One of the sport’s all-time most decorated fighters is ready to restart his career. All George St-Pierre is waiting on is his longtime promoter to compromise on a new deal so he can get going.
Only thing is, right now, there’s no deal.
This is insane. St-Pierre was one of the classiest champions in MMA history. He opened up the entire Canadian market for the promotion. He was an ambassador for a brand and a sport. He is still just 35 years.
The UFC should be backing up a cash truck to his house, not playing hardball with him.
St-Pierre, who has not fought since November 2013, ended two years of speculation by finally announcing his intent to fight again on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. In doing so, he did not offer specifics on the stumbling blocks that have so far caused an impasse in negotiations. But in an April interview on the same show, St-Pierre mentioned a potential problem, citing sponsorship issues related to the UFC’s Reebok deal as a roadblock.
St-Pierre has been signed with athletic performance gear giant Under Armour since 2009, and in 2013, Forbes reported that he makes a seven-figure annual salary from the brand.
“A big issue is that when I was on contract, the Reebok deal wasn't in place,” he said back in April. “So now, because of the Reebok deal, it changed a lot of things in my contract. We need to renegotiate maybe a new contract. I’m not allowed to wear my sponsors anymore, and I lose money.”
This is a real and significant concern for St-Pierre regarding big money. To suggest he should roll into the newly redefined landscape is to ignore many of the UFC’s actions that suggest it can make exceptions for the exceptional.
Let’s remember that just earlier this month, the UFC announced the return of former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar after a nearly five-year absence.
While you can debate who was a more valuable commodity at his peak between Lesnar and St-Pierre, there’s no question which athlete was the more valuable over time and who did more for the company and its bottom line.
Yet the UFC went out of its way to negotiate an agreement to borrow Lesnar from WWE and sign him, simply to ensure a monster buyrate for a single show, UFC 200.
There is no real upside to Lesnar, no long-term future. Instead, it’s a one-night-only, limited engagement.
Just as he was before, St-Pierre remains the more valuable long-term puzzle piece for the UFC. He offers one of the most bankable names in the sport and an injection of energy in a suddenly sagging Canadian market. Free of the belt that once drove him to near obsession, he is also able to enter into high-profile matchups that would have previously been impossible.
For example, St-Pierre has already voiced an interest in moving up a division to middleweight and taking on newly minted champion Michael Bisping, who recently told Sky Sports, “If the UFC wants to do it, I would happily do it.”
His versatility spans multiple divisions. St-Pierre has said it would actually be easier for him to make lightweight than to fight at 185 pounds. With that revelation, he could fight anyone from Conor McGregor to Rafael dos Anjos to Nate Diaz.
If only he can strike a deal.
On Monday, St-Pierre said he is leaving the negotiations to his managers Rudolph Beaulieu and Philippe Lepage, saying he was only one voice in a group that has pledged to unanimously agree upon any GSP-related deals before signing.
“First, it’s an issue but I’m trying to not get involved into this,” he said regarding the talks. “It’s legal language. English is not my first language, and even if you speak English sometimes it’s hard to read a contract with the legal language, you know what I mean? So it’s a very difficult thing, but I’m sure they can put their egos aside on both parties and make an agreement for the best of both sides.”
Asked to provide comment from the UFC’s side of the negotiating table, vice president of public relations Dave Sholler declined.
This should not be a hard decision for the promotion. If this was any other sport, St-Pierre would probably be in the fold immediately. This is a man who stepped away on the heels of a 12-fight win streak and who remains just as popular as he’s always been.
But the UFC is preoccupied. It has its biggest week of the year coming up on Independence Day weekend with three events in three days, and oh, yeah, there is that pesky UFC sale rumor that just won’t go away.
So for now, St-Pierre is relegated to the back burner. There are other pressing matters, and other, easier ways to bring cash in the front door.
For the UFC, business is so good that it can slow-play one of the best ever to walk into the Octagon. The company is so busy that it will get around to him when there’s time.
It shouldn’t be that way. St-Pierre is a champion, a gentleman, a legend. He doesn't just deserve better treatment; he's earned it.
