Georges St-Pierre Still Not Satisfied With UFC Deal
Georges St-Pierre is back with the UFC, but he isn’t too pleased with his contract.
St-Pierre signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion two weeks ago and has been slated to make his middleweight debut against Michael Bisping for the title at a time and date yet to be determined. Negotiations between ‘GSP’ and the UFC for the Canadian’s return had been ongoing for some time, but the two sides were finally able to reach a deal that will bring the former welterweight king back to the Octagon.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour earlier today (Mon. March 6, 2017) St-Pierre discussed his new deal with the UFC, and admitted that the contract still isn’t what he was looking for (quotes courtesy of MMA Mania):
“To tell you the truth, it’s not exactly what we really wanted, it is still a little bit below what we really wanted in the beginning,” St-Pierre said. “But for UFC, it’s more than they were willing to give me, is what they said. So we both are unhappy in a way, which is the middle ground line, so I guess it’s a good thing. It’s like a settlement in court. If both parties are unhappy, I guess it’s a good thing,” said Georges.
“That’s how it is. Also, the love for the sport, I wanted to be back, the emotional side of it made me accept the deal. I don’t regret it, I am happy,” confirmed Georges. “But if you ask me if it’s what we originally wanted, no, it’s not, it is a little bit below. But it is still very good money, very close. We both made concessions on each part, not just one one side, but both sides and that’s why the deal was done.”
St-Pierre went on to reveal that his new deal has him inked down for four fights, and detailed how the bout with Bisping came to fruition:
“It was only for a four-fight contract. The idea of Bisping came before, first I was texting with Tyron Woodley and Woodley made it public. He text me if I was interested in fighting him and I said, ‘Yes.’ He said let’s do it, and I said let’s do it but need to make sure my contract was, because I don’t have a contract right now,” revealed St-Pierre.”
Despite trading expletive-filled barbs at one another during their press conference this past weekend, St-Pierre holds a great deal of respect for Bisping. From his stance against fighters who have abused performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to his ‘courageous’ title victory over Luke Rockhold, ‘Rush’ has been pleasantly surprised by ‘The Count’s’ current winning spell.
St-Pierre also stated that Bisping’s admirable ability to bounce back from even the hardest of shots makes this the most dangerous fight he’s ever accepted in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career:
“Bisping surprised everybody, the way he won the title he show a lot of courage. He stepped up on a short notice fight, knock out Luke Rockhold and, the way it was made, it was very inspirational to me,” he added. “Bisping has been very outspoken against performance-enhancing drugs like I am. Most of his losses come from guys who took performance enhancing drugs.”
“He is very inspiring because he is a very hard worker. He is not he kind of fighter that only relies on his natural gifts and talent. Those fighters crack and don’t come back the same,” added St-Pierre. “Michael has been dropped down before many times and came back stronger every time. These fighters are the worst nightmares of fighters you can fight. As much as it is inspiring to fight him and he’s going to make a lot of money and Michael deserves it, and I deserve it, I think it’s the most dangerous fight I have ever taken in my entire career.”
