Will Georges St-Pierre ever return to the UFC? According to Renzo Gracie, you can count on the legendary welterweight to announce his comeback very soon.
We’re approaching three full years since Georges St-Pierre stepped away from MMA and abdicated his UFC welterweight title after a controversial split decision win against Johny Hendricks. During that time frame, and particularly within the past 12 months or so, there’s been endless discussion over whether or not we will ever see “Rush” step back into the Octagon. GSP himself squashed a January report that said he would announce his comeback, although his coach Firas Zahabi recently stated his own beliefs that St-Pierre has an urge to get back into competition again. Rory MacDonald added that while he doesn’t know if GSP was returning, he thinks the “right amount of money” would nudge him towards doing so.
On today’s edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Renzo Gracie sung the praises of GSP’s work ethic and just about guaranteed that we will soon hear the Canadian tell the MMA world that he’s back and ready to resume competing in the UFC. (Transcription via MMA Fighting’s Hunter A. Homistek)
“He’s [St-Pierre is] coming back for sure,” Gracie said. “That boy, the best thing he does in life is fighting. Look for how long he’s been a champion. He overcame so many obstacles. Many people don’t know Georges would come from Canada, leave at 4, 4:30 in the morning, come to New York by bus, train the whole day and leave at night – this two, sometimes three times a week.
“A champion is not just born. He’s forged into it. And Georges has all the tools to become champion again, and for sure, he’s now 100 percent healthy. I saw him, he’s in unbelievable shape, and for sure he will be announcing soon to be back in the game.”
GSP was recently in attendance for the big UFC 196 card in Las Vegas, which was soon followed by a suggestion by Zahabi that he should fight Nate Diaz. At the beginning of the year, his former manager even brought up the possibility of St-Pierre vs. Conor McGregor at lightweight. Gracie believes that if/when GSP returns, he should get “a straight shot to the champion, whoever it is.”
For now, however, the 34-year-old St-Pierre remains retired until further notice.