UFC champ Georges St. Pierre may retire after November fight
On Nov. 16, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will defend his belt against Johny Hendricks. According to GSP’s head coach, Firas Zahabi, the champ is hungry and motivated right now but there is no guarantee that he will be back for more after this next fight.
“It takes a special mind to do MMA,” Zahabi said in a recent interview.
“We need to train every day, do not go out and do not do things you love. Train all day long. It is not easy. It’s really something.”
The TriStar coach says that St. Pierre has yet to determine if he’ll be interested in going through all that again after the Hendricks fight. If the French Canadian does not feel the same desire to sacrifice and train hard, Zahabi says St. Pierre will retire after the next fight.
“Georges told me…if he still has the motivation for another training camp, he will continue. Otherwise, he will retire,” Zahabi said.
“Motivation is the most important thing. When you do not have it, you have nothing. Georges is motivated for this camp. He’s trained well.”
"Georges told me ... If he still has the motivation for another training camp, he will continue. Otherwise, he will retire, " said Firas Thursday. "Motivation is the most important thing. When you do not have it, you have nothing. Georges is motivated for this camp. He trains well."
St. Pierre is over eleven years into his MMA career, most of which has been in the UFC. Though the 32 year-old has looked sharp in his most recent fights, with wins over Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz since returning from ACL replacement surgery, it may be that he’s nearing the end of the road by his own choice.
What do you think? Is St. Pierre talking privately about retirement a sign that he’s not completely focused on beating Johny Hendricks next month at UFC 167 or will a sense of finality add to his motivation to go out on a high note?
