Dana White: Georges St- Pierre Doesn’t Want To Fight
Ever since former welterweight kingpin Georges “Rush” St- Pierre vacated his title back in 2013, talk has never really stopped about when and if the Canadian superstar would return. After vacating his title that he held for so long, St-Pierre made it clear that the UFC’s drug problem, and drug testing, or lack thereof, was one of his main reasons for stepping away.
When UFC president Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertita recently announced that the company would be implementing a new and stricter drug testing program, as well as partnering with a third party testing agency, talk once again surfaced that maybe this would be enough to lure “Rush” back to the cage.
However, speaking to MMAJunkie at the UFC 184 post-fight press conference, White said that he had not spoken to St-Pierre, and that he is not going to pressure him into fighting:
“I haven’t really spoken to him,” White said. “I’ve asked him if he wants to fight and things like that. You know, this is one of those sports – I say this all the time – if a guy doesn’t want to fight, the last thing you want to do is pressure a guy to fight.”
Not seeming overly optimistic, White added that if GSP indeed wanted to fight, he would’ve called him. Since this has not happened, the UFC boss claims St-Pierre just doesn’t want to fight anymore:
“”Georges St-Pierre doesn’t want to fight. And, if Georges St-Pierre wants to retire? I get it. He goes out on top, he’s made a lot of money, and he’s doing movies now. If he’s ready to retire, I’m never going to be the guy to pressure him into coming back.”
Being one of the UFC’s biggest draws in promotional history, “Rush” is undoubtedly financially set to live in retirement, not to forget about the movies he is now shooting as well. He defended his title eight consecutive times, and is widely considered to be the greatest welterweight to ever grace the Octagon, leaving little left for him to return.
It now seems unlikely that we will ever see St-Pierre compete again, but anything could happen. What are your thoughts on a potential return for the former 170-pound king?
