Georges St-Pierre retired as one of the greatest MMA fighters in the history of the sport but he might not be completely done with combat sports, at least as far as grappling is concerned. It would certainly be huge news in the MMA and BJJ communities if he did make a return to grappling, as he’s still one of the most popular fighters in the world. It’s been almost 8 years since he was last seen in an MMA fight and almost 20 years since he made his sole professional grappling appearance at ADCC 2005, with any comeback looking less and less likely with each passing year.
St-Pierre recently spoke about his choice to step away from MMA while he was still at the top of the sport and he was clearly happy with decision:
“You have to prepare before it happens, you know? And I retired with a smile. At that time when I retired, I had ulcerative colitis. I had bad symptoms and I didn’t want to hold the belt because I think it’s disrespectful for other competitors… After my diagnosis and everything, I was on heavy medication and everything. With the stress, I decided to retire and now I feel better than ever.”
St-Pierre is not just content with having closed the door on his MMA career, he’s actually moved on from it entirely:
“Fighting is not who I am, it’s what I used to do. Of course, I made peace with it. I will probably never feel that rush of adrenaline again.”
That didn’t stop him from planning a return to grappling in 2023, in what was one of the biggest storylines of the year. Although there was plenty of interest in his combat sports comeback, he was injured during preparation and the match fell apart. There’s been no sign that he’s revisited that idea in the two years since then, but he always stays in excellent physical shape regardless. St-Pierre revealed that he’s still dealing with the results of that injury, but a grappling match isn’t completely off the cards:
“I had a shoulder surgery and now am trying to get back to 100%. I would never fight again in mixed martial arts to prove I’m the strongest man, this is over. But if it’s for an event like a special event, maybe a charity involved for the fans, something fun like grappling where the risk of injury is minimized… You know I still like to compete, but for different reasons…. Maybe not, I don’t close the door on that.”
The full interview with Georges St-Pierre where he spoke about making a return to grappling was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Bloody Elbow:
