Georges St-Pierre may be eyeing a return to competition — but not in the way fans might expect.
Now recovered from shoulder surgery, the legendary former UFC champion revealed that while his days of chasing titles are over, he remains open to the idea of stepping into a grappling match under the right circumstances.
Speaking to Bloody Elbow, St-Pierre explained:
I had shoulder surgery and am trying to get back to 100%.
I would never fight again in mixed martial arts to prove I’m the strongest man — that’s over.But for a special event, maybe a charity, something fun like grappling where the risk of injury is minimized — I still like to compete, but for different reasons.
I don’t close the door on that.
St-Pierre initially retired in 2013 while still holding the welterweight title, only to return four years later to claim the UFC middleweight belt with a win over Michael Bisping.
However, the toll of adding weight caught up with him.
After battling ulcerative colitis and requiring heavy medication, he chose to vacate the belt and officially step away in 2019:
You have to prepare before it happens. I retired with a smile.
At that time, I had ulcerative colitis and bad symptoms.
I didn’t want to hold the belt because I thought it was disrespectful to other competitors.After my diagnosis and being on heavy medication, I decided to retire.
Now, I feel better than ever.Fighting is not who I am — it’s what I used to do.
Of course, I made peace with it.I will probably never feel that rush of adrenaline again, but I find that competitive edge in other things — in the gym, sparring, training with young guys, and in business.
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