Dana: I Know ‘For A Fact’ That Georges St. Pierre Will Return For A ‘Fun’ Fight

Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre sent a shockwave through MMA when he decided to vacate the belt following his controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 last November.

St. Pierre has since hinted at a return to the cage, but only if some pivotal things changed. One of those things immediately figured to be drug testing, something that ”GSP” has been very vocal about.

However, at today’s UFC 171 pre-fight media scrum, UFC President Dana White said that St. Pierre’s absence from the sport is still due to the personal problems he has cited all along:

“That’s not why he’s gone. That’s not why he’s gone. He’s not gone because of TRT or any of that stuff, he’s gone because he had personal problems that he needed to deal with. Um, a lot of that stuff got blown out of proportion, and you know, he’s gone because of the reason that he sat down with me and Lorenzo that night and told us he was leaving, that’s why he’s gone.”

White gave his view that the UFC welterweight division was open and fun right now, but that doesn’t necessarily means he misses his dominant champion (and top pay-per-view draw):

“Is it fun for Georges St. Pierre to be gone? I wouldn’t say that it’s fun for him to be gone. The welterweight division is exciting right now, and when Georges does come back, whoever’s standing there will be fun; it’ll be a fun fight.”

With that statement sounding quite confident that St. Pierre would indeed be back, the inevitable question was next. White said it wasn’t a matter of if, but when, St. Pierre made his way back to the Octagon, despite not having much communication with the former champ:

“I know for a fact he will. Haven’t talked to him. Texted him. He said, “Thanks for all the things in my documentary.” That’s the most, that’s all we’ve said to each other since the last time we talked.”

We’ll have to wait and see what transpires. White has been known to make bold statements that don’t always come to fruition, such as the time he predicted he would have a “GSP” vs. Hendricks rematch booked in two weeks.

But, it also wouldn’t be all that surprising to see St. Pierre start to miss fighting and decide to come back. Just when will that be? And who will he face upon his anticipated return?