Georges St-Pierre is not contemplating hanging up his well-worn gloves after his scheduled UFC 167 matchup with Johny Hendricks after all. That’s according to a report from Ariel Helwani on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight.
Just days ago, the possibility of a St-Pierre retirement made headlines after his coach Firas Zahabi told Canada’s TVA Sports that the UFC welterweight champion would consider quitting mixed martial arts if he lacked the motivation to continue after his Nov. 16 bout. However, it seems that Zahabi’s words were either misconstrued or misunderstood, and that St-Pierre has every intention to continue on.
If he does, there may be records to break in his immediate future. A successful performance would mark his ninth consecutive title defense, putting him just one behind ex-middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva in the UFC record books.
Despite a decade-plus career in the sport, he is just 32 years old.
St-Pierre (24-2) has not lost since April 2007, capturing 11 straight matches, although he’s come under fire for a recent inability to finish, going to a decision six straight times.
Oddsmakers pegged him at about a 2.5-to-1 favorite in his match with Hendricks, although gamblers have bet that number down, laying money on his opponent’s wrestling skills and canon-like left hand. As a result, St-Pierre is facing his closest match odds-wise since squaring off with B.J. Penn at UFC 94, which ironically is the last time he finished an opponent, scoring a fourth-round TKO.
