MMA
Former UFC double division champion Georges St-Pierre announced his retirement from MMA earlier this year but his coach Firas Zahabi often hinted that the Canadian UFC star might come back from the retirement if he gets to fight the current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, in an interview, Rush has ended the talk about his potential fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov and explained that he now prioritizes his family more.
“It was on my mind when I retired. I really wanted to do it, but now, telling you the truth, UFC was clear, they had other plans for Khabib so I turned a page. I cannot wait for the fight to happen and twiddle my thumbs. I have other plans for my life. Being the best fighter in the world is not my number one priority anymore. It used to be, now it’s not. I have family, friends, I have a lot of more important things to do. I have other projects down the road.
“Family is the number one priority. It’s very important. Family and health is very important.”
St-Pierre said, in an interview with MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew.
“It’s not because I can’t, it’s because I don’t want. It’s not worth it to dedicate all my focus and concentration to this if I’m not gonna fight and get the fight that I want, you know what I mean? So it’s not that I can’t do it. I could come back and fight again but my heart is not there. When I train in the gym, I feel very confident. When I train with a young guy, I feel like I want to fight again but then I go back home and sometimes I wake up in the morning and I’m like, ‘ Ugh, f*ck that.’ So it’s a mixed-up feeling for me now.”
GSP first announced his retirement in 2013 but briefly came back from retirement to fight Michael Bisping at UFC 217. He retired with a professional record of 26-2 and a reputation as the greatest welterweight fighter of all time.
Khabib is set to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in September for the lightweight title.
