Georges St. Pierre is now an MMA free agent.
In 2013 Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (25-2) had just defended his Welterweight title for the 9th straight time in a tough and controversial decision win over Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks (17-5). It would be the fight that caused St. Pierre to regroup and decide it was time to step away from the UFC at the top of his weight class. The rumors have swirled in the past 12 months of a possible return of arguably the greatest Welterweight in UFC history and today news has come down. Georges himself announced on Ariel Helwani’s show the MMA Hour that his contract was in fact terminated with the UFC and he was free to fight for any organization.
It is very interesting to see this move from both parties, but not necessarily unexpected. The contracts of retired fighters are frozen when they retire and with St. Pierre it was no different. However, the difference was the money St. Pierre had in endorsements prior to retiring. It is rumored that the UFC’s deal with Reebok was the biggest sticking point as GSP was sponsored by Under Armour during his time in and post-UFC.
St. Pierre has expressed interest in fighting again and even recently enrolled in the UFC’s drug testing program under USADA in the hopes of returning to the Octagon. With this news coming down it will be interesting to see where the man who for so long was at the top of UFC’s list of stars goes from here. The UFC and St. Pierre were clearly unable to come to an agreement on the terms of his contract and what it would look like upon return. There is also rumored impact that since the UFC was purchased in July talks had become more belabored with the change in ownership. The UFC will surely respond to GSP’s comments as he further went on to discuss fighter pay and treatment, which has become a big focal point since the 4 Billion dollar sale to WME-IMG
It is obvious Bellator MMA will make a push for the man who had until his final fight frankly dominated all challengers since regaining the belt for his second title reign. St. Pierre is in a position almost no MMA fighters are in with financial independence because of the money he made in his career and sponsorship deals outside of the UFC. There must have been a larger rift between the two parties that is fully being led on and more details will surely emerge in this situation. Unfortunately for many die-hard UFC fans who always dreamed of an Anderson Silva- GSP super fight (even if they are both past their prime) will remain only that with St. Pierre more than likely being finished with the UFC.
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- Georges St. Pierre
- UFC
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