VIDEO | Georges St-Pierre explains how he has benefited from his time off

https://youtu.be/s9vy-fOk6CA

After months of conflicting rumors and reports, and a very public contract dispute with the UFC, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is now pencilled in for a return to the Octagon. Though we don’t yet know when or where this St-Pierre comeback will go down, we know it will occur in the unfamiliar ranks of the middleweight division, where he will challenge reigning champ Michael Bisping.

When St-Pierre steps onto the canvas with Bisping, it’ll mark his first steps into the Octagon since 2013, when he scored a controversial decision win over Johny Hendricks. While this long hiatus has left many fans and pundits wondering if St-Pierre will be forced to deal with ring rust, the man himself has said this time away has been beneficial.

Speaking to Hayabusa, St-Pierre compared himself to a cellphone, and said the time away gave him the chance to delete unnecessary applications and recharge his battery. See the video at the top of this article, and a transcription of St-Pierre’s cellphone analogy below.

“Time off allowed me to… like a cellphone, you know? Your applications, they drain your battery, you delete these applications and it makes you more fresh. So it helped me to come back more hungry and better. I have accumulated so much knowledge [in my head], I have so much knowledge. And now I’m in peak, the peak of my career. I don’t wanna wait too long, because I’m at 35. I feel stronger than I’ve ever been. I might need more time for recovering, but I’m smarter and cleverer than ever.” 

Though St-Pierre has been confirmed to be fighting Bisping next, Bisping is apparently growing impatient waiting for St-Pierre to agree to a date, and has even threatened to give the former welterweight’s title shot to Yoel Romero as a result.

How do you think Georges St-Pierre will look in his return to the cage? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/11/2017.