GSP won’t fight in UFC without advanced PED tests
“I will never fight again in MMA without my opponent and myself being thoroughly tested for the most advanced PEDs by a credible independent anti-doping organization.”
BE‘s Brent Brookhouse recently conducted an extensive NOS-sponsored interview with former UFC welterweight Georges St. Pierre that touched on the biggest issue in MMA – PEDs.
Brent Brookehouse: In talking to some executives from Showtime and Strikeforce in the past, it was suggested that there would have been a pretty massive deal on the table had you been a free agent during the promotion’s time as an independent entity. Given your rare status as a major draw, do you have any regrets that you never had the opportunity to test out the market as a free agent? There were mentions of things that more closely mirror boxer contracts with networks than the standard MMA deals, meaning millions of dollars in guarantees and 50% PPV revenue cuts. Does that sting a little? Or do you feel that your value was always maximized during your time with the UFC?
George St-Pierre: I cannot change the past and the context in which I fought in professional MMA. I feel that I made the most of it, and I also do feel bad for some of the other fighters who have made the same sacrifices as myself for many years and still ended up with not much in their pockets.
BE: You’ve obviously been vocal about performance enhancing drugs in the UFC. Another Tristar guy, Mark Bocek, recently retired and cited not wanting to compete against guys who are on PEDs any longer, so the situation is impacting some other fighters and their willingness to continue to compete. Obviously the VADA thing fell through from the Hendricks side in your last fight, but it seemed like you were wanting to push toward a place where your fights were as heavily tested as you could get them. Were you to return to the UFC, would you consider some sort of condition that you would only compete with expanded testing for you and your opponent through an organization like VADA or USADA?
GSP: I will never fight again in MMA without my opponent and myself being thoroughly tested for the most advanced PEDs by a credible independent anti-doping organization like VADA or USADA under the strictest standards of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) Code.