On Saturday night, we saw one of the most entertaining bouts in recent memory, as Georges St-Pierre somehow managed to fend off Johny Hendricks to retain his title in Las Vegas via split decision.
It wasn’t easy for the 32-year-old, as GSP struggled to take control of the fight. In fact, many believed that Hendricks earned the nod over the reigning champion.
Regardless of the scoring controversy, GSP still looked impressive, but soon after the bout ended, the Quebec native announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from the sport, at least for the time being.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto captured the champ’s surprising words:
“There was a lot of talk about what was going to happen [after this fight],” St-Pierre said. “I have a bunch of stuff in my life happening. I need to hang up my gloves for a little bit.
“I will make a point on that a little later, but for right now, I’ve got to go away for a little bit.”
This will be a blow to the sport as a whole.
It is difficult to replace a man who has dominated the UFC landscape for more than six years, and for the time being, it’s unclear whether we’ll ever see him fight again.
Like boxing or virtually any individual sport, mixed martial arts thrives on having consistently successful athletes. It’s hard to think of many who have done as much in a relatively short period of time as GSP has. He holds the welterweight record for most consecutive title defenses with nine.
Sure, there are some lesser lights who appear to be capable of at least partially filling GSP‘s shoes, such as Hendricks, who gave the legend arguably his toughest challenge to date.
At age 30, Hendricks isn’t young enough to take a run at GSP‘s run of dominance. But that’s OK, because no one ever will.
As of now, GSP sits one victory ahead of Matt Hughes for most all-time wins in UFC history with 19, and though that record may fall one day, it will take a one-in-a-generation talent to do so, because that’s exactly what St-Pierre has proved to be.
He was pushed to the brink by Hendricks like no one else in recent memory, but perhaps St-Pierre knew he wanted to take a break from the sport prior to the bout. He’s had the pressure of defeating every challenger who has come his way for the last six years, so maybe this is his way of going out on top.
It’s impossible to replace GSP, but if his career is ultimately over, hopefully another fighter will come along who can represent the sport with the class and dignity that he has for nearly a decade.
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