Anybody watching Saturday’s main event at UFC 167 knew that Georges St-Pierre was not himself. Johny Hendricks, former number-one contender for the UFC Welterweight Championship, gave GSP all he can handle on Saturday night, pushing the current champ the full five rounds of the fight. No one has done the damage that Johny inflicted on Georges probably since George was beaten last, by Matt Sera six years ago at UFC 69. After a score-card which gave Georges the split-decision win, many were shocked not only to hear that Georges had won the fight, but that he is looking to take an extended leave of absence from the UFC.
Amongst many rumours out there, the consensus comes down to two main personal problems. The first is that Georges’ father is apparently very sick and is pretty much on his death bed. The other is that the welterweight champ got a woman (who is unknown to this point) pregnant, and that he does not want her to have the baby. So, it looks like we won’t be seeing Georges in the octagon anytime soon.
With that being said…have we seen the last of Georges in the UFC? Many were speculating that this could be his last fight, and at the age of 32, he may not have much left in the tank. He’s dominated pretty much every single man in his weight class (other than Rory MacDonald, his training partner who has already made it clear that he will not be fighting Georges as long as he is champion), so there isn’t much left for him to do in his division.
In my opinion, I don’t think he’s done yet, and here are some reasons why…
He is still the undisputed UFC Welterweight Champion. Go back to almost a year ago, when Carlos Condit was the Interim Welterweight Champion, and fought Georges (the current champ at that time) when he came back from injury. The same applies to this situation. If Georges were to take an extended leave of absence, I don’t think UFC owner, Dana White, would hesitate to name an interim champion, that would fight George again when he returned for the undisputed title. If Georges were to come back and win that fight, possibly then I’d could see him retiring. There is no way Georges would want to end his career in the fashion that he ended his fight on Saturday, bloodied, bruised, clearly dominated in a fight that he ended up winning, with many personal troubles haunting him. Georges is the class of the UFC, and I’d bet the world he wants to go out with class and integrity. A definitive win, no questions asked, no controversy.
There’s a guy named Anderson Silva lurking around in the UFC’s Middleweight Division. The third best pound-for-pound fighter in the world has been linked to Georges in a super fight that would go down in the history books. Two of the best men to have ever stepped foot in the octagon, duking it out to determine possibly the best of all time. If Georges wanted to leave on a high note, a win against Anderson would be just that. The only problem is the fact that they fight in two different weight classes. Now, the question is whether Georges would want to go up a weight class just to fight Anderson. The only person that can answer this is Georges, and with the current problems he’s going through, I don’t expect an answer to this question anytime soon. It’s just speculation about this fight (speculation that’s been growing for the past couple of years), but it’s very possible, and if Georges wanted to do something he’s never done before, this would be his chance. He’s dominated his division, but can he dominate Anderson Silva, possibly the best of all time, in a weight class above his? This fight has more validity to it than people think.
Dana White was pretty pissed at the UFC 167 Post-Event Press Conference on Saturday night. He criticized the Nevada State Athletic Commission for screwing up the score-card, saying that the Governor of Nevada better step in and intervene or else Dana may consider not having any more events in Nevada. To him, Johny won the fight and the judges got it all wrong. Now, Johny will most likely have to have another fight before challenging Georges to another fight for the belt, but he is still entitled to a rematch none the less. In Dana White’s shoes, I would cringe at the situation where a current champion wins a match he should have lost, and decides to take an extended leave of absence where he possibly may never step foot in the octagon again, where there is another fighter who feels cheated out of the championship and is looking for a rematch. Because of that, I don’t think Dana lets Georges retire from the UFC without having at least one more fight, specifically against Hendricks (if he earns it).
Many people think Johny Hendricks should have been named the new UFC Welterweight Champion on Saturday, but instead it was Georges retaining the belt. Johny may have done more visible damage to Georges, but he didn’t convince the judges he deserved it more. You’re facing the UFC’s bread and butter, the man that Dana White called the UFC’s best attraction. If you don’t knock him out, or one hundred percent dominate the whole fight, you’re not winning the belt.
All we know at this point, is that we won’t be seeing Georges back in the octagon for a long time. “I can’t sleep at night now. I have issues. I am going crazy.” (Georges after his fight on Saturday night)
Georges St-Pierre at the UFC 167 post-event press conference on Saturday night. (Scott Peterson/MMA Weekly)
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