Georges St-Pierre: 'The UFC wants to renew the negotiations for my return'
Despite being away from the UFC for more than three years, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre continues to make headlines
St-Pierre was recently revealed as one of the central figures in the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA) alongside current UFC fighters Donald Cerrone, Cain Velasquez and TJ Dillashaw, as well as former Bellator MMA President Bjorn Rebney. While many fans assumed this would put an end to he ongoing negotiations between St-Pierre and his former bosses, the French Canadian has revealed that he is back in negotiations with the UFC for a return to the Octagon.
Appearing on TSN St-Pierre confirmed the earlier reports that the UFC has been in contact with his team since he was confirmed as one of the members of the MMAAA.
“[Joing the MMAAA] doesn’t mean I’m done with the UFC”, said St-Pierre. “Like other members, like Cain Velasquez, Tim Kennedy, Cowboy Cerrone, they’re all seasoned fighters. Doesn’t mean I’m done. Actually, the night that we launched the association we received a letter, Rodolphe [Beaulieu] received a letter, my agent, from the UFC lawyer saying that they want to renew the negotiation with me because at the point where I was before the negotiation, the communication was cut. So we didn’t have any kind of communication.”
This is the latest development in the ongoing saga between the UFC and their former fighter. While St-Pierre had made it known he was hoping for a headlining spot on UFC 206 in Toronto, these plans inevitably fell through after both sides couldn’t come to an agreement. As a result, St-Pierre declared he was free to test the waters as a free agent.
“The thing is, I was training until a very recent point”, St-Pierre explains. “I was fighting, I was training to get ready for a fight in Toronto. I really thought it would have worked out and in case someone got hurt, they would have maybe called me or I thought maybe they would have called me at the last minute, just to take me off guard. I didn’t know. But one or two weeks ago I pulled the plug, I knew it was not happening.
“I was hoping earlier to get on the card for Toronto but it’s not happening and now I guess they’ll keep talking and we’ll see if they can come to an agreement. Same story as before but now I have more options. I’m [a] free agent. I don’t have to be in the UFC. I could go somewhere else.”
St-Pierre (25-2) has not competed since defending his welterweight title against Johnny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013. This victory marked the his ninth consecutive title defense and 19th total win under the UFC banner. However, immediately after his win, St-Pierre announced he would be taking an indefinite hiatus from competition.
Earlier this year, the man known as ‘Rush’ revealed he was feeling the itch to compete again. For weeks, he continuously made it known his team was working with the UFC on a new deal, with a potential fight against middleweight champion Michael Bisping being a key factor. But these talks fell apart when the UFC was sold to WME-IMG in July.
“I will not be there [at UFC 206] but I remain a big fan,” said St-Pierre. “I’m gonna watch some of my teammates fighting on TV from my home but I won’t be there unfortunately. I wish I would have been there. The best place would be in the cage. I was hoping to get it done against Michael Bisping and he was hoping it too but unfortunately the conditions that they were offering me for the contract were unacceptable.
“Any smart person would not have accepted it. A person who would have accepted it is scared and has no choice but I’m healthy, I’m wealthy, I have the choice. I don’t have to take something that is not advantageous for me. I mean equitable. Because now I was taking all the risk and it was not equitable.”
St-Pierre holds several UFC records, including the most wins in title fights (12), second most consecutive title defenses (9), most wins (19), most wins by decision (12), most successful title defenses in the UFC Welterweight division (9) ,the second longest combined title streak in UFC history (2,204 days) and the most consecutive title defenses in the Welterweight division (9).
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