Georges St-Pierre broke a lot of hearts this week when, on Thursday, he publicly announced that he was retiring from MMA once and for all. For many fans, and even more fighters, it was GSP who had inspired them to get into MMA. Then they fell in love with the sport and stayed there.
However, as GSP said in his interview, there is never a better time to retire from MMA than when you are on top. That’s exactly what he did, as he bade farewell to the sport to which he had been attached for most of his life.
Talking about the reasons he was making the decision to retire, he said that there were very few fights left which excited him. On top of that, he felt that the Ulcerative Colitis he had contracted following his last fight had possibly been stress related, and another fight might have further exacerbated the situation. He wanted to focus on staying healthy, and the Khabib fight negotiation falling apart cemented his decision.
While he is not yet sure what he will do in the future, he has talked about coaching other fighters.
When the news of his announcement broke, the entire MMA world hurried to pay him their respect:
Thank you, 🇨🇦 @GeorgesStPierre. For everything. pic.twitter.com/iIltDOeNjT
— UFC (@ufc) February 21, 2019
All the best in your endeavors Georges. @georgesstpierre
I’m sure I’m not the only one Georges has made his impact but also a whole country and an entire sport worldwide. Amazing to witness an individual grow to such heights and setting the bar for everyone. #andstill #goat pic.twitter.com/xpYmxQUoDa— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) February 21, 2019
I was lucky enough to be able to train along side Georges St. Pierre many times throughout my career. Georges was always the consummate professional in everything he did, whether it be in… https://t.co/4P1q7YDVir
— Frankie Edgar (@FrankieEdgar) February 21, 2019
Thank you for everything you did for our sport @GeorgesStPierre you’re a living legend my friend
— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem) February 21, 2019
I am not impressed by your retirement
— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) February 21, 2019
Thank you @GeorgesStPierre 🇨🇦🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/EEpXuMv4j9
— Ilir Latifi (@Latifimma) February 21, 2019
GSP was a great role model on how to go about your career & not to let anything or anyone make you change who you are. I have the upmost respect for @GeorgesStPierre & he will be great at whatever he chooses to do next! #KenShamrock pic.twitter.com/PHA1yy3emR
— KEN SHAMROCK (@ShamrockKen) February 21, 2019
Une véritable légende. Je vous souhaite une excellente retraite, GSP. Thank you for representing Canada in the octagon with skill, sportsmanship and the heart of a champion. https://t.co/pMFKYIh1oP
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 21, 2019
Hearing of Georges announcement tomorrow pic.twitter.com/Rm3xG2IRTt
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) February 20, 2019
This fascinates me. Fight day was just about the only thing I DID like about being in MMA. Probably why he is one of the best ever, truly loving the grind is a strange and remarkable thing. https://t.co/30xvaxZmXY
— Sean O'Connell (@realOCsports) February 21, 2019
Thank you for everything you’ve done for our sport @GeorgesStPierre you’re a role model of a champ and a big inspiration for me. Enjoy you retirement.
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) February 21, 2019
🤙🏽 @GeorgesStPierre I hope you’re blessed in whatever you do from here #gsp https://t.co/yxfOWuRghS
— #Bellator271 @CrisCyborg.Com Returns Nov 12th (@criscyborg) February 21, 2019
No one is perfect, but from his debut to his ascension to his reign to his sabbatical to his retirement, GSP had as about as accomplished & perfectly-crafted career as you will ever see. Nearly everything happened on his terms and always with dignity. This won't be repeated soon
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) February 21, 2019
I was lucky enough to officiate 7 of @GeorgesStPierre fights in the Octagon including his first championship fight and his last. GSP it was always an honor to work your fights & I hope you dominate retirement just like you dominated the @ufc cage!! Thank you for being a class act
— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) February 21, 2019
I wrote an essay for @SportsCenter earlier today on what GSP means to me. I don’t think non-Montrealers fully understand how special he was for us. EVERYONE in Montreal has a good GSP story. He was omnipresent. Beloved. Without him, the sport never becomes this popular in Canada.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/RyanLoco/status/1098253552798130176
One of the best to ever do it has decided to walk away on his terms. Respect ✊🏽 https://t.co/GfFsckfrcD
— Arjan Singh Bhullar (@TheOneASB) February 21, 2019
Congrats on an amazing career @GeorgesStPierre pic.twitter.com/i54MxX3nL9
— danawhite (@danawhite) February 21, 2019
Now look at this video and you’ll understand why I wanted to fight with him, simply he’s one of the best оf all times. I just wanted to share cage with him while he’s active, that’s the… https://t.co/aYQf9mXKAY
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) February 21, 2019
You guys all know what he is talking about…. Dana to GSP: “I really need someone to eliminate this curly haired f*** how much is it gonna cost” https://t.co/qUxlz7n9It
— Funky (@Benaskren) February 21, 2019
SHARE
