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48-47 St. Pierre.

47-48 Hendricks.

48-47 St. Pierre.

Confusion and anger filled mixed martial arts fans, as we were surely meant to see a new welterweight champion. A relieved Georges St. Pierre celebrated as Hendricks fell to his knees in despair. He thought he had won. After giving ‘Rush’ his toughest test in god knows how long – winning more rounds than most – surely, he should have won. The judges did not see it his way. St. Pierre kept his title, edging out a very controversial decision.

A complicated situation got worse after the scorecards were read.

“Everyone, there was a lot of talk about what was going to happen [after this fight]. I have a bunch of stuff happening and I need to hang up my gloves for a little bit,” said ‘Rush’. Nobody could understand what was happening. The disjointed post-fight speech made little sense. Was he retiring? Is there a specific reason for him leaving?

“GSP got a girl pregnant and he doesn’t want to be the father.”

“His father is dying.”

“He’s being sued by a former manager.”

“Aliens?”

Everyone was speculating what had caused the Quebecer to step away, even gossip outlet TMZ. Despite not knowing the full details of what made the welterweight champion want to step away, Dana White immediately threw St. Pierre under the bus. After he had verbally eviscerated the Nevada State Athletic Commission, an incredibly angry White, told us that ‘Rush’ made a ‘big mistake’ by doing that post-fight speech, and also said he ‘owed’ the fans and the UFC.

Does he really owe us and the UFC anything?

No.

Not a thing.

When it comes to the UFC, he owes them nothing due to what he’s accomplished. He’s the most dominant welterweight champion in the history of the sport. One of the biggest box office draws that the UFC has; UFC 167 alone was the second highest gate at a UFC event being held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, right behind UFC 148. He’s also become the face of UFC’s expansion into Canada, frequently headlining events north of the border, and is responsible for one of the biggest UFC shows in history, when UFC headed to the Toronto Skydome for UFC 129. There’s a lot more to add to what he has done for the UFC, including being a consummate professional; an excellent role model for a sport that is frequently under fire for its unprofessional conduct and it’s constant association with ‘dudebro’ culture.

For the fans, he also owes them nothing. St. Pierre has provided us with some memorable tilts in recent times. The one with Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 included, he has been a constant source of entertainment ever since he joined the UFC almost a decade ago. And it doesn’t stop with how entertaining the fights are, he was the reason we finally got to see a clash with former Strikeforce welterweight kingpin Nick Diaz. When Diaz blew the original fight, ‘Rush’ pushed for the fight to happen, and it did.

Dana White admitted that he had jumped the gun when talking about St. Pierre during the post-fight press conference. However, he mentioned that St. Pierre’s problems were not as big as St. Pierre thinks it is. It may not be a big problem for White, but it’s clearly a big problem for the Canadian. Since White is not GSP, I do not think it’s right for White to comment on the severity of his issues. Especially when – at the time – the rumours about why he was choosing to step away had begun to go around.

While Dana has a point when talking about St. Pierre ‘owing’ Johny Hendricks a rematch, I still feel that St. Pierre owes us nothing. If he wants some time off, fair enough. There are problems for him taking time off (such as the welterweight division being put on hold), but those problems have several solutions.

One of them includes either creating an interim welterweight title or relieving ‘Rush’ of the title completely. This, however, is something White would most likely want to avoid. Or, they could build up a ‘true’ contender if Georges is intent on taking off time. With four people in the mix (as Dana would say), it would be easy to run a ‘tournament’ to create a real number one contender. The ‘tournament’ would have to start with Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown in December. Even if they run with the interim title idea, this would be a good way of doing it.

In the end, Georges St. Pierre really does not owe us or the fans a thing. In my opinion, it was selfish for Dana White to start firing blindly without understanding the severity of St. Pierre’s situation. Also, to assume that his problems aren’t as bad as he thinks they are was a bad move. If ‘Rush’ wants time off, it would be best to not rush him (no pun intended) into a rematch with Johny Hendricks or any other opponent.