A few weeks ago, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight and Middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre announced his official retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) after over 16 years in the hurt game as a pro.
And earlier today (Tues. March 5, 2019), “Rush” took another step in making it official, as he exited the United States Anti Drug Testing Agency (USADA) testing pool and handed his written retirement notice to UFC vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky, per ESPN.
Georges did leave the door cracked open just a little for a possible return, as he revealed during his retirement press conference that he’d be open to entertaining worthwhile offers from Dana White down the road. But at this point, it seems retirement is going to stick for the French-Canadian.
Should St-Pierre ever decide to fight for UFC again, he would have to re-enter the USADA testing pool for six months of random drug testing before he can be approved for a fight.
Georges was hoping to lock down a bout against current Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, but after the promotion decided to pass, St-Pierre decided it was time to walk away from the fight game. “Rush” hasn’t competed since defeating Michael Bisping at UFC 217 in November of 2017 to win the 185-pound strap.
Soon thereafter, “Rush” announced he’d be taking a leave of absence to take care of his battle with ulcerative colitis. At 37 years of age, St-Pierre is adamant he’s in the best shape he’s ever been in, but it seems the days of seeing “GSP” take on and defeat the best the world of MMA has to offer are officially no more.