By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
UFC great Georges St-Pierre has announced his retirement on Thursday in a press conference in Montreal, Canada. He is considered the greatest welterweight champion of all time.
St-Pierre has the most 170-pound title defenses of all time with nine.
“It takes a lot of discipline to become and stay champion,” St-Pierre said. “It also takes a lot of discipline to stop while still feeling that you’re in the best physical and mental shape of your life, but I’ve always planned to leave the sport when I’m at the top and in good health. I ant to thank my family, my fans, my coaches, trainers and training partners, my sponsors and my agents for their indefectible support during all these years.
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“I will forever be grateful for the work of Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, as well as Dana White and all UFC employees for giving me the opportunity to showcase my skills before the world from UFC 46 to UFC 217. I also want to thank each of my opponents. All of them are incredible athletes, who brought out the best in me. I retired from the competition with great pride at having had a positive impact on my sport. I intend to keep training and practicing martial arts for as long as I live and I look forward to watching the new generation of champions carry our sport into the future.”
We were informed that GSP retired on Wednesday because he was not granted his request to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov, according to MMA sources. Wednesday night, “The Eagle” sent out a message to GSP to fight in November.
The 30-year-old Nurmagomedov has not fought since making Conor McGregor submit in the fourth round with a neck crank at UFC 229 on Oct. 6.
The 37-year-old Canada native ends his career with a 26-2 record. He last fought at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017, at New York’s Madison Square Garden by a technical submission (rear-naked choke) in the third round.
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He won the UFC Middleweight Championship in his Middleweight debut in that fight. He later vacated the strap.
St-Pierre has wins over Nick Diaz, Carlos Condit, Jake Shields, B.J. Penn (twice), and Josh Koscheck (twice). He also defeated Matt Hughes and Matt Serra after losing to them previously.
“Georges has cemented his legacy as one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters ever,” UFC President Dana White said. “He beat all the top guys during his welterweight title reign and even went up a weight class to win the middleweight championship. He went years as one of the biggest names in MMA and remains one of the best ambassadors for the sport. He put Canada on the MMA map.”
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