George St Pierre Wants to Fight Again
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At this signal, at that place appears to exist very lilliputian mystery left in Georges St-Pierre'southward indefinite leave of absenteeism from mixed martial arts.
In case you didn't hear him the starting time fourth dimension, the old UFC welterweight champion said on Monday he thinks major changes are still needed in how the sport conducts its drug testing.
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Without them, he won't return.
"Personally, I'm not interested in coming back if there's nothing done in that regard…," St-Pierre said during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. "The only thing I regret now is…I should have (made these demands) before this. Because this has been bothering me for a long time and I never said anything."
When St-Pierre first relinquished the 170-pound title and announced he would take a sabbatical from MMA three months ago, a lot was said (and not said) about his unspecified personal bug. There seemed to be no cease to speculation about what could be troubling him and so much that he'd exist willing to give up the welterweight championship and walk away from the sport that made him.
The more we hear from him now, however, the more obvious information technology is that those individual issues (whatsoever they were) weren't the simply affair bothering him. He also wanted comprehensive contained drug testing for himself and his future opponents.
On Mon GSP sounded rested and relaxed, even a little bit thrilled that last weekend he got the chance to scout UFC 171 in the company of personal hero Arnold Schwarzenegger. He didn't seem irked or jealous that Johny Hendricks is the new champion, and near the end of the conversation got a take chances to personally wish Hendricks well when Helwani patched him in via phone.
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"Stick effectually for a flake," St-Pierre said to Hendricks. "Keep the championship and we'll see what happens in the sport. If some things modify maybe nosotros'll get together again."
The personal problems? They seemed like old news, making it feel more probable than ever that St-Pierre'southward much-ballyhooed private crisis amounted to piffling more than just needing a residue subsequently spending the last decade of his life walking the razor's edge of UFC competition.
St-Pierre told Helwani he'd "never been happier" than later on four months away from the cage and without the pressure of another big fight on the horizon. He says he'southward not stressed and is at piece of work on some business ventures to "build a better life."
Drug testing, it appeared, was the ane issue left that stuck in his craw.
That'due south a different story than the 1 we heard during his awkward in-muzzle interview later his narrow decision win over Hendricks at UFC 167. Information technology's different than what we heard from him at the post-fight presser or the numerous $.25 of gossip that floated to the surface immediately following his retirement.
When St-Pierre first put some of the blame for his exit from the sport on ineffectual drug testing in January during a press result in Montreal, UFC officials said they were shocked by the comments. They said the topic didn't come upwards with him when he told the visitor he was vacating his championship in tardily December.
On Monday, St-Pierre told Helwani he'd privately discussed the outcome with both UFC President Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta following UFC 167 and didn't encounter how they could be surprised to hear him talk nearly it again. He reiterated that he doesn't want to injure the fight visitor, but only wants to "elevate the sport" by irresolute the system by which fighters are drug tested.
What was less articulate was specifically how St-Pierre wishes to alter the system. He made a point of saying his beef wasn't with country able-bodied commissions or the UFC, but repeated again and over again that his objections were with the mechanism itself, which he believes is unsatisfactory.
At least now we know: The personal bug made for overnice fodder for whispers and allusion, but they are no longer what's keeping St-Pierre from returning to the cage. At present, the problem is drug testing and how to ready information technology.
If nosotros ever want to see him in action again, it sounds like somebody meliorate figure out a style to make some changes.
Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1994652-georges-st-pierres-ufc-hiatus-no-longer-a-mystery-its-definitely-drug-testing
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