Georges St-Pierre not leaving MMAAA

During his indefinite hiatus from the UFC, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre began his involvement in the MMA Athletes Association, also known as the MMAAA. St-Pierre then announced recently that he had signed a new multi-fight UFC contract.

This was followed up by an announcement regarding St-Pierre’s first fight back in the Octagon. The odds were correct in predicting that St-Pierre would be fighting UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Bisping vs. St-Pierre was made official for later in 2017, and was followed up by a press conference, where both men traded quite a few verbal jabs.

Through the saga of St-Pierre’s return to MMA, fight fans have continued to wonder whether the former champ would continue his involvement with the MMAAA. St-Pierre remained silent on the matter, however in a recent interview on The MMA Hour he explained that he would be remaining with the MMAAA:

“A lot of guys are fighting and they’re still part of the association. One thing that I am not, I am not a coward,” St-Pierre explained. “And it’s not because I’m back in UFC that I’m going throw (away) all of these who had the courage to step up with me, and I’m going to let them down. I’m not like that.

“What I said was true, what I believe. I believe some of the fighters, they don’t have their fair share of the pie. And I still do believe it.”

“I didn’t see the association as me not coming back,” St-Pierre said. “I see the association as something that could work with UFC for the benefit of the fighters. And I still believe it, as it is today. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for UFC. In long run, it would be a good thing. I believe fighters need to upgrade their status.

“The thing, too, is UFC is a business, and of course a lot of fighters, sometimes they’re not very well represented and they sign bad deals. It’s not the UFC’s fault if [fighters] sign bad deals. Sometimes it’s because they make the wrong choice themselves. If you’re in business and the guy is ready to sign for peanuts, that’s not necessarily the UFC’s fault sometimes. It’s the fighter’s fault. So I think it’s up to the fighters to take the initiative for themselves as well. It goes both ways. I think the association can be positive for both sides.”

on 3/10/2017.