In Berlin to help corner Tristar teammate Francis Carmont this Saturday at UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is enjoying the fresh dynamic at the top of the division as much as anyone.
“It’s the most exciting time,” St-Pierre said during a media scrum. “They have a lot of contenders and it’s very exciting. It’s a lot of new guys. Some are veterans but a lot of guys that weren’t there before. It’s a lot of new faces. I’m very happy and very excited. I’ve got my friend and training partner Rory MacDonald, who is part of that group. I think he’s going to do well. I think he’s going to be champion.”
Despite the bevy of new challenges, the allure hasn’t been strong enough to pull St-Pierre back to fighting.
“Not yet. I’m going to tell you the truth. I’ve been doing this for a long time, since I’m 19 years old, I’m 33 now. I felt when I fought [Carlos] Condit I was very hungry. I was very happy to be there. I wanted to do it a lot. [Nick] Diaz, a little bit less and the last training camp I had for [Johny] Hendricks I didn’t have the same motivation. It went down. I need to get back to that feeling of hungriness. I need to get the motivation back.
“It’s hard because it’s always the same routine, the same thing. I need to fix some different things in my life to make it more efficient, make it better. Once everything is done, maybe. Maybe I’ll come back. We’ll see how it goes, but I can’t say yes, I can’t say no because I just don’t know right now.”
Focused on recovery, St-Pierre is optimistic his most recent setback won’t factor into his UFC future. After tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in December 2011, St-Pierre suffered the same injury in his left knee in March.
“I try to have fun but I’m doing rehab on my knee. I had ACL surgery seven weeks ago so I’m focusing on my rehab to get back as fast as I can and in the best shape. From there, we’ll see what’s going to happen.
“[Rehab] is going very well. I had the same procedure on my right knee and my leg came back stronger so now I’m doing my left. It will be the same thing and I will have two good knees this time. It’s going to be a good thing.”
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Wandy out, Vitor in. Chael Sonnen will now face Vitor Belfort in a No. 1 middleweight contendership bout at UFC 175 after Wanderlei Silva reportedly fled a random drug test and failed to secure a license to compete.
DC’s knees. Daniel Cormier revealed that he injured his LCL just 10 days before fighting Dan Henderson and could even be forced to undergo ACL surgery.
Chat Wrap. Luke Thomas talks UFC 173, the utter lack of a lighter weight top salesman like Floyd Mayweather, this weekend’s UFC cards and more in this week’s live chat.
100K. Bellator 120 reportedly earned over 100,000 Pay-Per-View buys. ”With one of our main events falling out just seven days before our first PPV, a six figure plus buy rate is a good starting point.’
Shot. Jeremy Stephens says he earns a title shot with a win over Cub Swanson in June. ‘Lining this fight up, we were told it’s a four-man tourney: Cub vs. myself and [Chad] Mendes vs. [champion Jose] Aldo, winners meet for a championship bout at the end of the year.’
MEDIA STEW
Sonnen talks going from Silva to Belfort.
Meet TUF Brazil 3’s middleweight finalists.
Classy tapper’s revenge.
Open workouts in Berlin.
Luke Rockhold with more on Belfort.
Sorry, lady.
Long watches.
Fight Night Sao Paulo Free Fight: Stipe Miocic vs Roy Nelson
…
When To Go Hard and When To Rest w/ MMA Strength Coach Joel Jamieson
…
MMA 3 Way: UFC double header preview
TWEETS
Yep.
Called it.
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) May 29, 2014
Part II.
@Ealvarezfight Eddie are you that worried about me that you spy on me even when I walk my dogs? That’s not a good sign Ed
— Will Brooks (@illwillbrooks86) May 28, 2014
@Ealvarezfight you got to come out the bushes next time and introduce yourself to them. They love strangers
— Will Brooks (@illwillbrooks86) May 28, 2014
@Ealvarezfight Ugly jokes? Ed I know your not that bright you said it yourself but you can be more creative. What’s next Ed, yo momma jokes?
— Will Brooks (@illwillbrooks86) May 28, 2014
I think they see @Ealvarezfight in the bushes watching us pic.twitter.com/KpMn891eOc
— Will Brooks (@illwillbrooks86) May 28, 2014
All the hashtags.
U can delay, but you can’t deny! I’m coming for it! @ufc #ufc174 #ufc #thecontender #ATTNation #MyDestiny #letsgo pic.twitter.com/EpiK5tnHHV
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) May 28, 2014
Good to hear this got cleared up.
respect to @SonnenCH for admitting he was wrong. I appreciate the call & text. We have all said stupid things in the heat of the moment
— Jamie Varner (@jamievarner) May 29, 2014
Bummer.
So I got the call to change Opp yesterday. I will now be fighting July 19th at #UFCDublin In the Co-Main Event against Gunnar Nelson. #upset
— Zak Cummings (@ZakCummings) May 28, 2014
Vitor not really training with Jones.
I want to clear the air that on the rumor of me training with Jon Jones. The office that represent me wanted to u… http://t.co/z2o18rm4tt
— Vitor Belfort (@vitorbelfort) May 28, 2014
It lives.
@bisping stop talking smack. You got smashed for 25 minutes. I beat you on our feet and on the ground.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) May 28, 2014
Passing the torch.
Awesome practice with Martin Kampmann. @duanebangcom with the assist. @tjdillashaw brought some… http://t.co/yuXjVN9LVF
— Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) May 28, 2014
Tough day for the monkey.
Congo Confession: I ate a monkey, and it was good. Honestly it tasted like chicken. I think it will be the only… http://t.co/604lIh279N
— Justin Wren UFC (@JustinTheViking) May 28, 2014
Sriracha pants.
Do you like the heat?? Or do you like the sweet?! What you gotta taste for??? http://t.co/05Jyva2fkE
— Felice Herrig (@feliceherrig) May 28, 2014
Hang tough.
At the Vet with my puppy pic.twitter.com/K5jHNB6F0Y
— Hector Lombard (@HectorLombard) May 28, 2014
Damn.
I hate @Chevron cuz I was outta gas once,barely made it to one, and they REFUSED to take a $100 bill so I had to push my car to another spot
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) May 28, 2014
Never reveal your secrets.
Honestly curious about the workout.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (May 28 2014)
Wanderlei Silva out, Vitor Belfort vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 175
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Norman Parke at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Miller
Ryan Laflare out, Zak Cummings vs. Gunnar Nelson at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Miller
Ian Entwistle vs. Daniel Hooker at UFC Fight Night: Te Huna vs. Marquardt
Joe Proctor vs. Justin Salas at UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Miller
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via Da Headbanger.
Everything You NEED to Know About TUF Brazil 3 Finale FOX Sports 1 Prelims
I could lie to ya, but I won’t. There isn’t any hot prospects or under the radar veterans that could make a move on this portion of the card. You could probably not watch this and feel like you haven’t missed a thing. So essentially what I’m saying is if you don’t care about veterans who really won’t be going anywhere, stop reading this and go find something more productive with your time. I’m serious. At least that way I can’t point out that I told you to quit wasting your time when you ask why I’m writing these things.
Damn. I came across as an ornery ass there. I’m actually feeling quite pleasant… just trying to tell it like it is.
Rodrigo Damm (12-6) vs. Rashid Magomedov (16-1), Lightweight
Story Thus Far: After opening up his UFC career at 2-1 in the featherweight division, Damm moved up to lightweight after experiencing some kidney issues and won in his return bout at the weight over Ivan Jorge. The member of the original TUF Brazil has been a professional for 10 years at this point and is 34 now. He isn’t going to suddenly become a contender, but he is still a good test for the youngsters trying to move up.
…
Check out the rest of the post here.
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