Rich Hansen's Take
HANSEN: Georges St-Pierre's earned some needed time off, UFC can't overly rush his return
Nov 17, 2013 - 10:15:12 PM HANSEN: Georges St-Pierre's earned some needed time off, UFC can't overly rush his return

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By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist

Georges St-Pierre doesn't owe you anything. He doesn't owe me anything. He doesn't owe the UFC anything. He doesn't owe Johny Hendricks anything. Those are the words of MMA Torch Editor Jamie Penick. And he's absolutely right. St-Pierre doesn't owe anything to anyone except himself.

After taking the biggest beating of his life and having his hand raised in victory on Saturday night, St-Pierre rocked the MMA establishment by essentially announcing that he needs a hiatus due to personal reasons. St-Pierre's announcement to the entire world came just a small handful of minutes after having his "brain get bashed left and right inside (his) skull" by a guy who "hit like a truck" for a full 25 minutes.

At this precise moment in time, St-Pierre's head is not in the right place to continue fighting, and he should not be allowed anywhere near a cage fight for several months. But this is not unique. No fighter who took a beating like that should be cleared for at least a couple months. From just a physical point of view, St-Pierre shouldn't as much as shake another person's hand for the next sixty days.

The UFC announced last night that they will be putting on UFC 171 in Dallas on March 15. This leads to natural speculation that St-Pierre vs. Hendricks would be a natural main event for this show. Between UFC 171 and UFC 170 a mere three weeks earlier on February 22, the UFC is lacking for main event fights to fill their shows.

Last night Ben Henderson vs. Josh Thomson was announced to headline the January 25 Fox show. Also main eventing in January will be a very weak main event between Luke Rockhold and Costa Philippou on January 15 in the Atlanta area. UFC 169 features title fights in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, but isn't expected to crack more than 300,000 buys.

Cain Velasquez is nursing an injured shoulder and won't likely fight until April. Jon Jones Just pulled out of the Februay 22 event. To expect him to be ready a mere three weeks later is a bit of a stretch. The winner of the UFC 168 main event between Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva can't be counted on to headline either event, and the same applies to Ronda Rousey. Anthony Pettis is out until summer. The UFC won't headline a PPV with a flyweight.

The UFC needs Georges St-Pierre to return on March 22, and he flat out won't be ready to be there. What message will Dana White be sending to his employees independent contractors if he bullies, cajoles, and manipulates his only draw into fighting when he is not in the emotional or physical shape to fight. Anderson Silva was given 25 weeks between his first fight with Chris Weidman and the rematch. St-Pierre should not be expected to be ready in eight fewer weeks; not when comparing the amount of punishment he took in relation to Silva, and not when considering St-Pierre's state of mind.

It does the UFC no good to treat their bread winners like plow mules. Fair or not, the best athletes in the company are only valuable when they enter the cage at their best. If St-Pierre is pushed into fighting when he isn't ready to fight, that reflects poorly on the UFC for forcing him to do it, and also reflects poorly on people who want to see it.

Just as Dana White pointed out that it's not St-Pierre's fault that St-Pierre got his hand raised in a fight that the overwhelming majority of observers thought was a poor decision, it's also not St-Pierre's fault that the UFC feels an inexplicable need to run three PPV events between February 1 and March 15.

St-Pierre needs time away, and he has earned that right. Now, that said, St-Pierre is a man, and time stops for no man. If St-Pierre is physically ready to fight by July 5 and declines to do so, then the UFC is well within their rights to strip him of the title and book Johny Hendricks in a title fight at that time.

Under this timeline, St-Pierre is given almost six months to figure out where he is mentally and emotionally, and then has time enough for a full fight camp. This is a fair proposal which works in the best interests of both parties. If the UFC doesn't like it, then they're telling their roster of fighters that they don't give half a god damn about the well being of even their best fighters. If St-Pierre can't be ready by then, he clearly should walk away from the sport for as much time as he needs to get his life organized.