Georges St-Pierre on UFC retirement: 'They tell you to pass the torch. F*** that. Don't pass the torch'

Yahoo

29-04-2025

Georges St-Pierre is one of the greatest of all time for many reasons.
Most professional athletes only dream of going out on top in their sport, but the Canadian icon St-Pierre actually lived it, winning titles in two divisions and then retiring as UFC middleweight champion.
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Unfortunately, the more common outcome is that fighters stick around past their expiration date and end up on the wrong end of some bad beatdowns. At UFC Kansas City this past Saturday, for example, perennial light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith called it a career following a brutal first-round loss to Zhang Mingyang.
But as St-Pierre pointed out, Smith isn't done fighting yet. That's because the fight with yourself once the realities of retirement hit is bigger than any battle inside the Octagon, according to the former champ.
"The temptation [to come back] is always there, but there's always something you cannot beat — it's time," St-Pierre said on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show." "All we have in this world is [time]. Sooner or later, we're going to lose it. Whatever it is, materialism, we think, 'Oh, I'm building up my legacy.' Yeah, people remember me now. The next generation, the other one maybe, but in a few generations, nobody will care. So it's my ego that wants my legacy.
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"It's good as a fighter because you want that pride, you want that ego to carry you because it helps you to be more successful. But when you retire, you have to learn how to disassociate yourself from it. And that's what I've worked on since I retired. It's very, very hard, and there are a lot of guys that, they don't know when to stop. They think they can beat time. But it's impossible. It's the cycle of life. We cannot beat time. Everything we have now, it's temporary. We're all going to leave and everything will be lost forever. So I learned that and I made peace with it.
"It makes me sad when I see guys, and they messed up their health," St-Pierre continued. "Because when you retire, you have another half of your life to live. So it's important you stay as healthy as you can. And also, if you retire on a winning streak, they tell you to pass the torch. F*** that. Don't pass the torch. Retire on your terms, not on their terms. It's a selfish sport, and you have to be selfish. When you feel it's time to retire, retire."
Georges St-Pierre did things his way throughout his MMA career. (Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
(Brandon Magnus via Getty Images)
Under a microscope, it could be argued that St-Pierre went out on top twice in his career. Before "Rush" made his long-awaited middleweight debut to challenge Michael Bisping for UFC gold in 2017, St-Pierre had gone on hiatus in 2013 and vacated the welterweight crown he held for years. St-Pierre built his legacy in the 170-pound division, but outside factors and injuries ultimately piled up to force the Canadian's decision.
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The second time around, St-Pierre faced another big choice, and he listened to the voices that all fighters battle. Eight years later, he still hears them.
"When I retired, it's because I was, at the time, if you go back, after Bisping, I got ulcerative colitis and I had symptoms," St-Pierre said. "I was on heavy medication. I did not want to hold onto the title for too long because my respect for not just my colleagues, but my competitors [who] are trying to get the title. So I relinquished the title because I didn't know what was going to happen. Then I realized the stress and everything in my life, it was time for me to retire — and I did. And I'm glad I did it. I don't regret it.
"There's always going to be in the back of my mind, 'Oh, if I come back, I think I can beat him, I think so.' But this is my pride talking. It's not what I should follow."