Canadian MMA star Georges St-Pierre says he wanted to retire at top of his game

MONTREAL - Canada’s Georges StPierre said Thursday that he’s leaving mixed martial arts at the top of his game, expressing few regrets as he formally announced his exit from the sport.

The 37-year-old from St-Isidore, Que., appeared serene as he explained his decision at a news conference at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

“There’s no tears. I’m very happy to do it,” he said.

“It takes a lot of discipline though to retire on top. It was a long process in my mind, but it’s time to do it .... I always said that I want to retire on my own and not be told to retire.”

St-Pierre, a two-division champion, leaves with a record of 26-2-0 and a 13-fight winning streak. He holds the record for most 170-pound title defences at nine.

His departure was precipitated in part by the UFC’s reluctance to grant St-Pierre a high-profile fight with lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. While the Russian fighter appeared eager, tweeting that it would be “an honour” to fight the Canadian in November, St-Pierre said Thursday that “the UFC has other plans.”

However, the retiring athlete said he understood the UFC’s desire to promote fighters who are willing to commit to several future bouts.

“I would go fight one fight at a time, but it’s a bit selfish on my part, because this business isn’t about that,” he said. “It’s about what’s next.”

And while he expressed some disappointment that the fight didn’t materialize, he also acknowledged that he no longer has the same motivation he did when he was younger. The stress of fighting, risk of injury and threat of humiliation or defeat all took a toll, he said.