After years of negotiation, it finally looks like former UFC welterweight champion George St-Pierre is set to make his much awaited return to the octagon. It is being said that he and officials from the UFC have finally reached an agreement over a multi-fight deal.
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George St-Pierre has not fought for more than three years now with his last fight coming at UFC 167 all the way back in 2013 where he defeated Johny Hendricks via a split decision. Since then, he vacated his welterweight title and took an indefinite leave of absence sparking rumours that he was ready to call time on his MMA career.
Now, however, it looks likely that St-Pierre will finally get back into the octagon and the Canada-born fighter says he is really confident that he can beat any of the current champions.
He also added that the reason he did not return to the UFC earlier, despite being offered fights at UFC 200, UFC 205 and UFC 206, was because it would have been a huge financial risk for the UFC.
"The reason I wanted to go back and fight is because I feel right now that I'm at my best. I'm truly confident I can beat the guys that are champions right now. I'm that confident. The UFC told us they would take a huge financial risk to have me back and they would need to spend a lot of money to reintroduce me to the new audience. What we asked for was really – trust me – really reasonable" Sportsnet quoted St-Pierre as saying.
The UFC are currently short of top fighters who can headline main events. Conor McGregor is currently pursuing a mega boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, Ronda Rousey's future is in big doubt since her loss to Amanda Nunes, Jon Jones is suspended and the Diaz brothers are taking time off. Because of this, the UFC have decided to bring back George St-Pierre who once upon a time was regarded as the greatest welterweight of all time.
UFC president Dana White repeatedly said that a return to the UFC for George St-Pierre is highly unlikely claiming that the 35-year-old does not have it in him anymore. But it looks like he was wrong, as St-Pierre is set to make his comeback in the second half of the year and despite being out of the sport since 2013, he never stopped training.
