In a recent interview with Sportsnet Canada, Firas Zahabi [George St-Pierre’s trainer] said that he was unsure whether GSP would return to fighting. Zahabi also commented that George St-Pierre himself was uncertain as to whether he would return to compete in the Octagon.
During the interview Zahabi spoke openly about some of the reasons which may have caused George St-Pierre to want to retire from Mixed Martial Arts. He spoke about the length of time GSP had competed in the UFC and how he was unable to live a normal life due to the pressures of being a Champion. Zahabi mentioned that St-Pierre wanted to have a girlfriend and relationships, but was unable to at the moment due to fighting and he wasn’t sure how long more GSP was willing to make this sacrifice.
Zahabi concluded the interview by saying that he is currently speaking to GSP everyday and that he would continue to train fighters regardless of whether GSP continues to fight. He also spoke about the advice he had given GSP, saying that he believes he should retire if he no longer has the motivation to fight. If he lacks the motivation to fight then he will also lack the motivation to train and if he doesn’t train properly and isn’t at his best shape come fight time, then he will only get hurt.
After 22 UFC fights and more time spent in the Octagon than anyone else you can certainly see why George St-Pierre has retirement on his mind, even if it came as a shock to everyone when he announced he planned to retire. Like Joe Rogan said in an interview shortly after GSP’s fight with Johny Hendricks, fighter safety is the most important thing in the world and George St-Pierre is taking more damage now than he ever has done before. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if the champ did call it a day…
