Last night during a conference call hosted by the UFC Georges St-Pierre announced that he will vacate the title and will leave MMA competition indefinitely. Dana White then took this opportunity to announce that Robbie Lawler vs Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 in Dallas next March will crown the new UFC welterweight champ.
GSP cited too much pressure and criticism on-top of undisclosed personal problems have taken its toll on him mentally and that he needs time away. He also re-iterated that 15 of his 22 fights in the Octagon have been for the title.
He did however give a little glimmer of hope saying that he return one day, something I personally think is inevitable and you can tell Dana White is already rubbing his hands together at the thought of a “GSP comeback fight”.
I think the last time MMA fans, fighters, officials, media etc felt like this was when Anderson Silva got KO’d by Chris Weidman earlier this year. This is monumental in the landscape of the UFC. GSP has been a fixture at the top of the welterweight division since he won the title first in 2006. I know he had a hiccup against Matt Serra but he was still the top guy in the welterweight division.
You have to admire GSP for this decision. He has given his all to the UFC and MMA, he owes nothing to no one and deserves to take a break and if he decides to retire for good then so be it. He will go down as one of the G.O.A.T.S.
Below is the video of the conference call courtesy of MMA Fighting.