Georges St.-Pierre is a free agent according to the former UFC welterweight titleholder in an interview on The MMA Hour.
Rumors of GSP’s imminent return were strong but according to GSP his lawyer terminated his UFC contract after the UFC failed to offer him a fight.
GSP’s last fight was in November 2013 at UFC 167 against Johny Hendricks. GSP has remained active despite not being in the Octagon. According to the interview via MMA Fighting, GSP was offered Robbie Lawler but Lawler is taking time off from fighting after losing his title in July.
Payout Perspective:
Obviously, there are two sides to each story and we will have to see if the UFC confirms that St. Pierre is indeed released from his UFC contract. If so, this would be big news for other organizations such as Bellator. GSP is a popular fighter despite being away from active competition since 2013. His return to MMA would spark interest with any promotion he might land with in the near future. Now let’s hope this does not get pulled into litigation which might keep GSP from returning.
Bellator would be a good retirement league for GSP. I think he would dominate until he gets sick of fighting. I don’t think he would earn as much as in the UFC though. His UFC comeback fight would make him mid 7 figures easily – Bellator can’t match that.
Good move for Bellator if they are able to lure him in, extremely poor move on the part of the UFC if they were not able or unwilling to meet most of his demands. The man is one of the great mma fighters of the last 2 decades of the sport. Further proof that UFC just isnt what it used to be
There is no way this won’t turn into a court battle. I can’t imagine them letting him walk. If he does, he should go to Showtime, have them distribute it and promote the fight himself. No reason to bring any other promoter on board.