Former undisputed UFC welterweight and middleweight champion, Georges St-Pierre has claimed that if the union efforts currently led by undefeated professional boxer, Jake Paul are well organized, he will back the movement, in a bid to bring an end to the usual “horror” story that comes with retiring from professional mixed martial arts.
St-Pierre, a former duel-weight champion under the UFC banner, most recently competed in his hiatus-snapping return in 2017, defeating then-undisputed middleweight champion, Michael Bisping with a rear-naked choke win to become a two-weight Octagon gold holder.
In the time since, the Canadian icon, who is recognised as arguably the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all-time, has officially retired from active competition, and recently revealed that while a comeback far from an eventuality, his contract with the UFC has also expired.
As for Paul, the undefeated Ohio native has been vocal in promotion of his fights in his wish to create a fighters union in order to secure higher percentages of revenue from promotors in mixed martial arts – and recently improved to 6-0 with a unanimous decision win over former UFC middleweight titleholder, Anderson Silva earlier this month.
Georges St-Pierre backs an eventual fighters union
Commenting on the call for a fighters union to be installed into the sport, St-Pierre claimed he would interested in backing Paul – if the union prepared was organized.
“It’s not a question of it it should happen, a union – it’s a question of when it will happen,” Georges St-Pierre told MMA Fighting. “It will happen, because it happened in boxing, it happened in basketball, in hockey, in all professional sports. And mixed martial arts, unfortunately, it’s a young sport. It’s still a new sport; not as new as it was 20 years ago, but it’s still relatively young. Sooner or later, it will happen. …”
“It will happen in MMA, it’s just a question of time and it needs to be done with the right people,” Georges St-Pierre continued. “I’m always going to do things that are for the fighters, that are right for the fighters. That’s my thing, if the organization is done well, I’m willing to do anything to help the fighters, yeah.”