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- Consider Georges St-Pierre’s split decision win over Johny Hendricks two years ago as his farewell fight in the Octagon. St-Pierre, who turns 35 in May next year, hasn’t fought since successfully defending his title against Hendricks, a bout that ended up as the Fight of the Night at UFC 167 on Nov. 16, 2013 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
After the fight, the Canadian, who was once considered as mixed martial arts’ brightest star, hasn’t involved himself in any potential fights though he never really announced his retirement.
Though the former UFC welterweight kingpin has stuck by his “I’m not saying yes, I’m not saying no” stance about a return to the Octagon, his former boss, Dana White, has given up hope that one of his biggest stars will ever fight again. Speaking at a recent UFC 193 fan Q&A event in Australia, while promoting the upcoming UFC 193: Rousey vs Holm PPV event in November White said:
"I don't think so, buddy, I'm sorry. GSP's rich, man, he's hanging out and he's living the good life. In this sport you have to be hungry. You have to jump out of bed every day and want it. You've gotta want to win, you've gotta want to be a world champion. He's had it. He's accomplished all that stuff. He's made a lot of money, he's accomplished a lot of things. I don't see him ever coming back, no."
St-Pierre last set foot in the Octagon nearly three years ago, when he defended his belt for the ninth consecutive time by defeating Johny Hendricks by split decision. He holds numerous records, holding the most victories in UFC history, most UFC title fight wins, most consecutive welterweight title defenses, and numerous others. St-Pierre was one of the highest paid UFC fighters in the Octagon and outside of it, via sponsorships, when he walked away from MMA in late 2013, citing personal and professional problems.
Much like fellow champion Ronda Rousey, St-Pierre has starred in several movies. He stars alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme in the new “Kickboxer: Vengeance” film, which is slated for a 2016 release. However St-Pierre has said that he continues to train and could be ready to return to fighting at a moment’s notice, but White doesn’t believe he has the hunger necessary to compete at the same level that he’s used to.
- Meanwhile UFC star Anthony Pettis has revealed he would be open to a bout with Conor McGregor at featherweight or lightweight, and he has also expressed his desire to win back his title from Rafael dos Anjos.
McGregor is scheduled to fight longstanding rival Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December and, if he wins, has made his intentions clear to bulk up from featherweight to lightweight, a division he has previously branded as “slow” and “stuck in the mud,”. He also has a message for "Notorious" after the scrappy Irishman claimed he was going to move up to lightweight and clean house.
"It's all talk until it happens, man. He talks well, he's doing a great job for his weight class. I mean, there would be no big money fights in featherweight, besides... that's why I was gonna move down there. Me and Aldo was gonna be a big money fight for Aldo, but now with Conor McGregor in there, talking himself up, making himself marketable. Good for him doing that, but lightweight is a whole different place. It's not featherweight. Featherweight is... I mean, besides Aldo, there's not much..., I mean, there is talent, Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes, (but) lightweight is the deepest division in the UFC, it's a totally different story. For him to say, he's gonna come up there and walk through everybody, it's crazy. He's only beat Chad Mendes, one guy in the featherweight class that's top five. I mean, featherweight has always been an option. I want my belt back, that's my main goal. You know, I'm doing well financially, I'm not hurting at all. So for me, the goal right now is getting my belt back. What happens after that fight, we'll see. People wanna see McGregor, I fight McGregor, people wanna see Aldo, I fight Aldo, that's what it's all about."
The “Showtime” was a fighter who seemed to have the world at his feet prior to taking on Dos Anjos. Indeed, as he mentioned in the interview, there were options of fights with McGregor and Aldo at featherweight. Given the flashy manner in which he fights, Pettis going up against either would certainly make for an aesthetic spectacle.
But the brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was completely annihilated by Dos Anjos last time out, losing emphatically over the course of five rounds. Pettis revealed in the same interview that he’s desperate to get his title belts back from the Brazilian after his next fight, which will be against Eddie Alvarez. And it begins on Jan. 17, 2015 at the UFC Fight Night 81 event on FOX Sports 1 in Boston, Massachusetts. A bout in which Pettis is the clear fan favourite, says Alvarez:
"For me, it's just a comeback fight. I want to compete and get my belt back. I was on top of the world, had a bad performance. That wasn't me in that fight, you know? I feel like, if that fight would have happened ten times, nine out of ten I would have beat him. It was just that one day that I was off, I wasn't myself. I think Eddie's tough, he has great hands, he's been around for a long time, he's been in five-round fights, so we know, he has the gas tank, the ability to compete at the highest level."
