Georges St-Pierre praises Kamaru Usman, shoots down comeback talk: ‘It’s not worth it for me’

Add Kamaru Usman to the list of UFC stars who Georges St-Pierre won’t be fighting anytime soon.

One the most successful athletes in MMA history, “GSP” has had his name called out by the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tyron Woodley among others in the years following his first retirement in 2013 and then his second retirement after beating Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight championship in 2017.

St-Pierre has a resume that stacks up against anyone that has stepped foot into the octagon, but as impressed as he is with Usman, he doesn’t have plans to add the current UFC welterweight champion to his lost of opponents despite Usman’s recent challenge.

“For me, it’s very complimentary because for a fighter the goal is to work—And not only for a fighter, but the goal is to do as less work possible to gain the most money,” St-Pierre said in an interview with TMZ. “They know that a fight with me will give them a lot of money and plus if they win they can have the legacy that comes with it. But for my part it’s a mixed feeling. For sure, sometimes I’m watching the fight and I’m like, ‘Man, I think I can beat these guys.’ Or after when I’m done training I feel like I’m very confident. But then after I go home at night and I’m thinking about all that crazy thoughts I’m like, I’m gonna be 40 years old soon.

“Do I really want to go back into a hardcore training camp, two months, put myself in jail so to speak and getting ready for hell? And I’m like, no I don’t. I’ve done it for a very long time and unfortunately in my sport there’s too many guys that retired too late and I do not want to be one of these guys. I’m very fortunate. I’m healthy, most importantly, and I’m also wealthy. I came at the right time, the right timing, I made a lot of money, and I think when I measured and calculated the pros and cons it’s better that I stay retired.”

During his reign at the top of the welterweight division, St-Pierre was one of the UFC’s most dominant and popular fighters, winning big both in the cage and at the box office. His last fight at UFC 217 against Bisping was far from easy, but he rallied in the third to stun Bisping on the feet and finish with a rear-naked choke in the third round. Shortly after, St-Pierre vacated his newly won title and returned to retirement.

He admitted that he still gets the itch to compete, but better sense eventually prevails, and he paid respect to Usman, who recently tied his record for the longest win streak (12) in UFC welterweight history.

“It will always be like that,” St-Pierre said of whether he wonders how he’d fare against current fighters. “Maybe I’m completely out of my mind and if I go back I will get my ass kicked.”

“I think for me it’s better if I stay retired and I have other big projects right now,” he continued. “I still stay a big fan of the sport, I love to watch Kamaru, I love to watch all the best guys in the sport. ... I saw the fight, he’s amazing. What a great fight. He’s very, very smart. Everybody talks about his physical abilities and his skills, but I think what his best attribute is his brain. He’s very, very smart. He’s very good at becoming the perfect nemesis for his opponent. He fought almost a perfect fight. He’s an amazing fighter and he’s gonna go far, he’s gonna be one of the best if he keeps going like that.”

As far as a comeback down the road, St-Pierre said “the UFC knows where to find me” and suggested that there’s always a chance if the opportunity makes sense. Currently, he’s doing just fine staying retired.

“You can take the fighter out of the competition, but you cannot take the competition out of the fighter,” St-Pierre said. “I need to stay objective and smart about my decisions and right now to come back to fight for the welterweight title against Kamaru Usman and risk it all, there’s more cons than pros. So it’s not worth it for me.”