Dana White shares his reaction to Georges St-Pierre vacating the title

Back in early November, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre returned from a lengthy hiatus to capture the UFC middleweight title, hammering then champion Michael Bisping to a third-round submission win.

While this stood out as one of the most impressive moments of St-Pierre’s incredible career, it was followed by a stretch of uncertainty, as it was unknown whether the Canadian would defend his title, or perhaps seek out a different opportunity in another division instead.

In the end, St-Pierre announced that he was dealing with colitis, and vacated the title on his own. While this move generated praise from many of his fellow fighters, there was widespread wonder has to how UFC President Dana White would react, as he had repeatedly claimed that St-Pierre’s contract stipulated that he must defend the middleweight title if he won it.

In the end, however, the UFC boss seems to be taking things pretty well. He offered his reaction to St-Pierre’s vacating the title at the post-fight presser for the UFC’s Saturday stop in Fresno, California.

“At the end of the day, there’s a reason I put that stuff in the contract for him to sign,” White told the media. “There’s a reason. And am I shocked? I don’t think anybody is shocked. He came out, he hand-picked Bisping and then went away again. So, whatever, it is what it is.”

“I thought I would be [super pissed], but I’m not. I expected it,” White continued. “Listen, I had him sign a contract that said he would defend against [Robert] Whittaker for a reason — because I knew he wouldn’t.

“He doesn’t want to fight anybody at welterweight. That’s why he fought Bisping. He didn’t want to fight [Tyron] Woodley, he didn’t want to fight [Stephen] ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. He didn’t want to fight any of those guys. He wanted to fight Michael Bisping, and he did, and now he’s off again. So, listen, I’m not shocked, I’m not mad. It is what it is.”

Do you think we’ll ever see Georges St-Pierre back in the cage?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/12/2017.