St-Pierre is waiting for the right UFC fight

MONTREAL — Fans hoping to see Canadian Georges St-Pierre fight Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov may be disappointed.

The former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion played down reports he was interested in meeting the winner of the McGregor-Nurmagomedov showdown slated for UFC 229 on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas.

“I didn’t say I was going to do it,” St-Pierre said Thursday. “People headlined me the wrong way, to sell articles. That’s the society we live in.”

It doesn’t take much. After StPierre posted a photo of himself Sept. 2, fans noticed he had slimmed down, prompting speculation he could be preparing for a bout.

The 37-year-old St-Pierre made the comments at an appearance to publicize his partnership with Hydrorevolution, a Californiabased aquatic training company. St-Pierre’s relationship with the company dates back to 2011 when he started training with its products after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.

St-Pierre (26-2-0) has not fought since November 2017 when he came out of a four-year hiatus to submit middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping at UFC 217. One month later, the Montreal MMA star gave up his middleweight title and stepped away again after suffering from ulcerative colitis.

But St-Pierre did not close the door on a potential return to the octagon.

“I want to come back for a good fight,” St-Pierre said. “I want to come back for a fight that I can win, that I can gain something in terms of legacy. Not only money, but in terms of legacy. Because I have a lot more to lose than to win.”