For months now, there have been rumors regarding the possibility of former UFC Welterweight king Georges “Rush” St-Pierre making a return to the Octagon. On Monday, things got a lot more interesting.
GSP appeared on Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour” on Monday afternoon at MMAFighting.com and spoke about his latest feelings regarding a UFC fighting return.
St-Pierre had been rumored to be taking part in a test camp, and depending on how he felt afterwards, would ultimately decide if he did indeed want to make a return to the cage. Apparently that decision has been made and the only thing that could prevent his return from happening now is if he and UFC were unable to agree on deal points for a new contract.
“Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. I’m ready. I’m an emotional guy. My agents, even before I came on the show today, they briefed me. They said, ‘don’t say this, don’t say that.’ They briefed me, they said, ‘we’re in negotiations, remember, blah, blah, blah.’ Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t worry, I’m not a kid. But I’m an emotional guy, and when I get emotional sometimes, I say things that are necessarily in the best of my interests, and I’m trying to not go overboard with that.
“But the only thing is, I love my sport and I still feel I’m at my best right now. The clock is running. I’m not getting any younger. I’m in the peak of my career and if there is a shot, there is another goal, another run, I better do it and do it quick, because it is time to do it now.”
With his friend and teammate, and fellow welterweight, Rory MacDonald no longer being in the top of the title picture at 170-pounds, GSP could return to make a run at the title or he could just take big fights, such as a potential 170-pound match against UFC 145-pound champion Conor McGregor, who is making his second welterweight appearance against Nate Diaz in August.
With that in mind, St-Pierre offered the following comments when asked what fights would interest him as a potential first match back.
“I have a lot to lose in this, because I finished on top,” St-Pierre said. “I finished as champion, and that’s the way everybody would like to leave the sport — on top, healthy, and wealthy — and I did it. If I go back and, it needs to be for something big. I think for my first fight, it needs to be for something big, and that’ll give me the swing and the momentum to do it again and again and again for another run.
“So it depends on what it going to happen, but I have a lot to lose, but the thing is also, the reason why I’ve been thinking of coming back, is I don’t want to end up at 80 years old and telling myself, ‘I should’ve done this, I should’ve done that.’ Because all of the things I regret in my life the most, it’s not the things that I have done. It’s the things that I have not done, the things that I regret the most. So I don’t want to end up where I’m too old and say, ‘aw, I should’ve done it. I was in great shape. My timing was impeccable, and I didn’t do it,’ so I would die with regret.”
St-Pierre (25-2), last fought at UFC 167 back in November of 2013, earning a tough, contested, split decision victory over Johny Hendricks.
