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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
One of the key things keeping Georges St-Pierre on his self-imposed hiatus was the UFC's lack of a third-party drug testing system, something they'll be implementing this July.
However, the very existence of that program doesn't mean St-Pierre will return, and UFC President Dana White says he hasn't been in contact with the former Welterweight Champion since they announced their plans.
"I haven't really spoken to him," White said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "I've asked him if he wants to fight and things like that. You know, this is one of those sports – I say this all the time – if a guy doesn't want to fight, the last thing you want to do is pressure a guy to fight. Georges St-Pierre doesn't want to fight."
"And, if Georges St-Pierre wants to retire? I get it. He goes out on top, he's made a lot of money, and he's doing movies now. If he's ready to retire, I'm never going to be the guy to pressure him into coming back... You have to want to do this, and apparently Georges doesn't."
Penick's Analysis: The longer he stays away, the more I want to see him officially retire. He left the game as Champion, something no one in this sport gets to do, and he doesn't have anything to prove by coming back. The UFC could obviously sell the hell out of his return, and he could make a lot of money if he wanted to come back, but I think it's becoming clearer that he's just not interested in fighting again right now.
[Georges St-Pierre art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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