UFC president says GSP ‘not hungry’ enough to return

UFC president Dana White has a policy of long, long standing – if you fighter is not incredibly hungry to step into the Octagon, then he or she shouldn’t. It came up most recently with former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre planning on a six-week test training camp at Freddie Roach’s WIld Card gym, after which he would make a decision.

“I highly doubt it’s going to happen because GSP’s been off for too long and has a ton of money, said White to Lance Pugmire for the LA Times. You don’t do a six-week camp to learn if you have the hunger. You either know it or not. Robbie Lawler knows it, he’s hungry, he trains like an animal.

You’re either hungry and an animal or you’re not.

It’d be great if he comes back, yes, I love Georges St-Pierre — amazing athlete — but comeback talk? I laugh at it. To be a world champion, you have to be hungry.

That’s not GSP. Not even close.

St-Pierre appeared recently on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, and took exception to the remarks.

“There are different ways of being hungry,” said GSP as transcribed by Dave Doyle for MMAFighting. “I still can be hungry, you can be more hungry than people who have nothing. I have so much to lose, because of my pride, the pride is my most important strength, I’m a very proud person, and I would never go back and make a fool of myself be humiliated, because I’m a very proud guy. I have so much to lose, that’s what’s going to makes me hungry, and be willing to do better than anyone, there’s different ways to be hungry.”

“Part of me is thinking, I have a lot more to lose than win, and another part of myself says, we only live once. I don’t want to be at 80 years old, and tell myself “I should have done that and I didn’t.’ Most of things in life that I regret, are the things I haven’t done, not the things I did, the things I haven’t done.”

“I don’t even know, myself. It depends on a lot of things. I haven’t made my decision. I haven’t made my decision yet because I don’t know. I’m not the kind of guy to say I’m going to retire and then come back, I don’t like to do that. I just don’t know.”

GSP has not fought since his UFC 167 split decision win over Johny Hendricks on November 16, 2013. It does not at this point appear that he will be fighting any time soon.