Former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre starting to feel desire to return to cage

Georges St-Pierre

Former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre could be on his way back to the octagon.

With the two-year anniversary of St-Pierre last fight rapidly approaching, optimism regarding a potential comeback has faded with each passing day.

St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) voluntarily gave up the UFC welterweight belt in December 2013 after he made his ninth consecutive title defense against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013.

“Rush” did not formally retire, but cited multiple reasons for the hiatus, from his concerns about performance-enhancing drugs in the sport to a dissolving competitive fire.

“I didn’t feel that hunger, that will to fight,” St-Pierre explained in October 2014. “When I fought Johny Hendricks, I was like, ‘If you put happiness on a scale, who would be more happy to win the title? Me to win another title, or would it be Johny Hendricks to win the title for the first time?’ I realized the guys who were coming, the new guys, they would be way more happy than me to win a title.

“When you lost the motivation, you cannot reinvent yourself, and you stay the same Georges St-Pierre you are, and for me, it was time for me (to walk away). After the (Hendricks) fight I was like, ‘Man, you need to take time off to see where I’m going. I have a lack of motivation and I don’t want to wait until it’s too late.’

“If you lose a race in another sport, it’s not bad. But if you lose a fight in mixed martial arts, you get damage. It’s very bad. I wanted to take some time off to see where I’m going.”

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and while St-Pierre has maintained an active training schedule in his time away from competition, there’s no way to replicate the rush of emotions that accompanies stepping in the octagon.

St-Pierre has not officially committed to another fight, but said in a recent interview with French-Canadian news outlet RDS that he’s beginning to form the desire for those emotions once again.

“I’m starting to get the feeling, more and more, to come back,” St-Pierre said. “I watch the fights to see what’s going on in my division, and I’m staying in shape. It’s like a knife that I have to keep sharp just in case I ever decide to jump back in the mix. It’s most likely not going to happen in 2015, but I don’t know, yet.”

St-Pierre’s career accomplishments stand in a class of their own. The 34-year-old holds the record for most UFC wins with 19, has avenged both of his professional losses, and recorded nine consecutive title defenses during his more than six-year reign before vacating the belt.

UFC President Dana White frequently stated following St-Pierre’s hiatus that he expected to eventually see the Canadian superstar return to the octagon. He changed his tune recently, though, and revealed that he felt St-Pierre was ready to move on from his competitive career.

“I’m leaning toward he’s not coming back these days,” White said. “He’s rich. He’s rich and doesn’t really have to do anything anymore if he doesn’t want to. He’s filming some movies. He’s doing some fun stuff.

“Fighting is one of those sports that you’ve got to be hungry and you’ve got to want it. He hasn’t been hungry for a long time for a lot of things. He’s got a lot of money, he’s young, he’s got a lot other options and he’s going out on top.”

Whether St-Pierre’s itch to return to the UFC comes to reality remains to be seen, but if it does, he’s vowed that fans won’t witness a lesser version of what he was during the best days of his career.

“If I ever come back, it’s going to be important for me to reinvent myself and become a much better version than I was,” St-Pierre said.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.