Canada’s St-Pierre retires on top again
UFC star, double champ steps away from sport on 13-fight winning streak
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 in explaining 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 also holds the record for the 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 champ 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.”
St-Pierre had been out of action for four years when he faced middleweight champ Michael Bisping at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017, at Madison Square Garden, defeating the Brit by choking him unconscious in the third round. That was GSP’s final fight.