He’s baaaaack … in negotiations

The greatest welterweight in UFC history, Georges St-Pierre, hasn’t fought since November 16, 2013. That Saturday he successfully defended the belt in the fight of the night vs. Johny Hendricks and then took time off.

His original intention was to seek relief from the pressures of being arguably the best fighter in the sport. He then came out vocally against PED use. During this period the UFC instituted arguably the best PED testing program in sports.

On April 30, 2011 at UFC 129 in Toronto, GSP set the UFC’s all-time gate record of 55,724 spectators for $12,075,000. It is believed to the largest live gate in Canadian history, beating the Olympics, the Rolling Stones, and the Stanley Cup. The fighter had hoped the headline Saturday’s UFC 206 in Toronto. Instead, we ended up with Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis for the interim featherweight belt. GSP participated in drug testing by the US Anti-Doping Agency for four months, a condition of his return.

However, talks for his return bogged down over the infamous Reebok deal. GSP is sponsored by Under Armour, and UFC fighters have to wear Reebok exclusively during Fight Week and in the Octagon. The negotiations got so bitter GSP declared he was a free agent.

On 11/30 St-Pierre appeared as one of the faces of the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association, an organizing group that seeks to address a long list of grievances, most prominently the portion of income that fighters receive.

GSP spoke recently with TSN’s Michael Landsberg and said he is back in negotiations for a return to the Octagon. Note: The video is not available in all regions.

“No, no it doesn’t mean I’m done with the UFC,” said St-Pierre, as transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting. “Like other members, like Cain Velasquez, Tim Kennedy, Cowboy Cerrone, they’re all seasoned fighters. Doesn’t mean I’m done. Actually, the night that we launched the association we received a letter, Rodolphe [Beaulieu] received a letter – my agent – from the UFC lawyer saying that they want to renew the negotiation with me because at the point where I was before the negotiation, the communication was cut. So we didn’t have any kind of communication.”

“The thing is, I was training until a very recent point. I was fighting, I was training to get ready for a fight in Toronto. I really thought it would have worked out and in case someone got hurt, they would have maybe called me or I thought maybe they would have called me at the last minute, just to take me off guard. I didn’t know. But one or two weeks ago I pulled the plug, I knew it was not happening.

“I was hoping earlier to get on the card for Toronto but it’s not happening and now I guess they’ll keep talking and we’ll see if they can come to an agreement. Same story as before but now I have more options. I’m free agent. I don’t have to be in the UFC. I could go somewhere else.”

“I will not be there [in Toronto] but I remain a big fan. I’m gonna watch some of my teammates fighting on TV from my home but I won’t be there unfortunately. I wish I would have been there. The best place would be in the cage. I was hoping to get it done against Michael Bisping and he was hoping it too but unfortunately the conditions that they were offering me for the contract were unacceptable. Any smart person would not have accepted it. A person who would have accepted it is scared and has no choice but I’m healthy, I’m wealthy, I have the choice. I don’t have to take something that is not advantageous for me. I mean equitable. Because now I was taking all the risk and it was not equitable.”

“Who or what kind of person would I be if I’m taking a fight under conditions that are not equitable and I’m fighting for the other person that is trying to make their condition of work better. So if I do something, it’s smart to do it for myself first and then I try to do it for the other person. That’s my mentality.

“The truth is, I’ve met a lot of guys that when they finish their career they’re broken physically, mentally, financially and they have a family to feed and they have no insurance to care. This is unacceptable and that’s what we’re fighting for. I’m an exception because I’m very lucky. Even though I didn’t really have my fair share I ended up healthy and wealthy which is very rare in this business. Trust me, it is very rare. And I’m very happy, I feel very blessed to be in this situation and be able to fight for these guys that don’t have the same condition.”

The UFC disputes St-Pierre’s claim, saying he’s still under contract and that it “reserves its rights under the law” to have him honor the contract. Hopefully they work it out, and soon. GSP is 35, in a sport where time is profoundly unkind.