Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre appears to be calling it quits for good.
After returning in November 2017 to capture the middleweight title following a three-year layoff, St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) is set to make retirement official after failing to secure a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
St-Pierre, 37, will make his retirement announcement Thursday at an official UFC press conference being held at Bell Centre in Montreal, which has hosted several of his sold-out fights.
The news was first reported by Reseau des sports reporter Benoit Beaudoin, who hosts the MMA podcast “Dans La Cage” (via TSN reporter Aaron Bronsteter). St-Pierre also thanked his longtime coach Firas Zahabi on Twitter.
St-Pierre’s future remained in question until word of the press conference. He relinquished the middleweight title – won with a knockout of champ Michael Bisping – after being diagnosed with colitis, an inflammation of the inner lining of the colon. He never officially retired, however, and expressed interest in a number of opponents, including Nurmagomedov (27-0 MMA, 11-0 UFC).
Despite his health issue, the Canadian MMA star was optimistic he could even cut down to 155 pounds to take on the Dagestani champ, who’s currently serving a nine-month suspension for inciting a brawl in connection with his win over Conor McGregor at UFC 229.
UFC President Dana White expressed interest in a rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor this year, while reports surfaced of the current UFC champ in negotiations for a boxing match in his home country.
St-Pierre, a native of Saint-Isidore, Quebec, will leave the sport with one of the most decorated resumes in MMA history. He won his first welterweight title at UFC 65 in 2006 and defended it once before a shocking upset loss to Matt Serra. He recaptured it less than one year later by avenging his loss and went on to defend the belt nine times, a divisional record.
One of Canada’s most popular sports figures, St-Pierre regularly sold out events and helped make the country one of MMA’s great hotbeds of talent.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
