Georges St-Pierre: New Anti-Doping Policy A Step In The Right Direction
It’s no secret that former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has been an advocate for a cleaner sport. The former 170-pound kingpin has never been one to hold his tongue on the issues surrounding the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in mixed martial arts (MMA). He even went as far as saying he wouldn’t return to the Octagon unless VADA or the USADA were doing the drug testing.
Since that time, penalties for the use of PEDs have gotten much stiffer. With Mike Richman getting shelved for two years and Alexander Shlemenko having to sit for three years, athletic commissions seem to be taking this issue seriously.
Despite the efforts, St-Pierre is in no “Rush” to compete again. Even with the UFC’s own drug testing policy, St-Pierre still has no plans on a return (via FOX Sports):
“According to sources close to St-Pierre via a report on UFC Tonight, the new rules, regulations and testing program are ‘a step in the right direction to bring him back’ but that wasn’t the only reason he decided to walk away from the sport.
There are other issues in play in regards to St-Pierre coming back or staying retired and for now he’s still on the sidelines with no definitive plans to return.”
St-Pierre’s last fight was a successful title defense over a solid Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 back in late 2013. We learned in Oct. 2014 that “Rush” was cleared to train following surgery on his torn ACL.
The other issues preventing St-Pierre from returning could be a number of things. He may be psychically prepared, but he may not be mentally set for competition. Personal issues may still linger for the living legend.
Or, he could be waiting to see if his training partner and friend Rory MacDonald takes the UFC welterweight title from Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 on July 11, 2015.
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