At UFC 167, Georges St-Pierre will face arguably his toughest challenge yet in Johny Hendricks. A win over whom would take his tally to nine title defences since he dethroned Matt Serra back in 2008.
His reign as king of the welterweight division is something to marvel at, even more so if he does conquer Hendricks. What would be more impressive is if he retires after doing so.
To retire is a simple thing to do in principle, yet so many athletes struggle with the decision. You only have to look back through the UFC’s young history for proof. It took both Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture to be knocked unconscious one too many times to finally admit when it was over.
Anderson Silva has a rematch with Chris Weidman booked for December, but if he does fail against the current 185-pound champion again it means another fighter failed to finish on top.
GSP should retire because if he defeats Hendricks, what else there? Yes, he will be just one win short of matching Silva’s record of 10 title defences, but his length of tenure is no match for the quality of opposition the Canadian has fended off during his time at the top of the welterweight division.
If St-Pierre has his hand raised on Saturday night, he will have not just beaten Hendricks, but he would have added another name to the list from a third generation of welterweight contenders.
Starting with the old-guard of Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Sean Sherk and Frank Trigg, he went on to see off his own generation of Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves and Jake Shields. He is the only UFC champion to do so and there are no questions over the standard of his opponents.
Being able to finish on top, swallow his pride and retire would still be his greatest achievement because it is such a rarity in sports and especially combat sports.
If there is anyone with the right mentality to do so, it is Georges “Rush” St-Pierre. Professional and philosophical in his thinking, GSP is a rare human being which is often taken for granted by some of the more blood thirsty fans of the sport who care only about finishes.
The debate over his retirement has been a constant in the build up to UFC 167, and part of that is because his demeanour has changed. He is more visibly tired of the routine of training camp, obviously frustrated more than usual by the media and affected more by the cuts, bruises and damage caused during a fight.
He has also considered retirement before, admitting during a Primetime episode he was close to phoning UFC President Dana White when recovering from his ACL injury to tell him it is over.
He did not make that phone call, obviously, but once the ‘R’ word has been seriously considered it is not easy to toss it aside and forget about what can become an attractive prospect when one is so close to it. Like a seed it is planted in the brain, and over time it can grow in the subconscious until your heart is not really in it anymore.
Whether that is the case with GSP, only he can know, but it is obvious he is growing tired and there will be no reason to prolong it. The only thing left would be to face friend and welterweight contender Rory MacDonald, if he is also successful in his fight against Robbie Lawler on Saturday night.
He does not want to fight MacDonald, so what would be next? The right decision would be to go out a champion and leave the door open for the next wave of challengers.
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