UFC legend Georges St-Pierre has been officially removed from the promotion’s year-round drug-testing program, following his retirement from mixed martial arts late last month.
St-Pierre, 37, announced his retirement at a news conference Feb. 21 in Montreal. According to UFC vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky, St-Pierre also has provided written notice of his retirement to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which removes him from the UFC’s testing pool.
St-Pierre (26-2) said he decided to retire only after his management failed to negotiate a final bout against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0). Nurmagomedov publicly came out in favor of the proposed fight, but St-Pierre said the UFC “has other plans” for Nurmagomedov’s next title defense.
The Canadian superstar said he did not hold any ill will toward the UFC for not booking that fight, however, and wished Nurmagomedov the best moving forward.
Asked during his news conference whether he would ever come out of retirement for the right offer, St-Pierre appeared to leave the door slightly open, saying, “If Dana [White] called me back and there was something interesting, we’ll see. Like a movie scenario, ‘he’s coming back,’ … we’ll see. But right now I’m not thinking about it.”
Per the UFC’s anti-doping policy, any retired fighter who wishes to return to competition must first submit to six months of random testing. So, in the event St-Pierre were to entertain the possibility of a return, he would need to provide written notice to USADA six months before any comeback fight.
Fighting out of Montreal, St-Pierre is arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. He defended the UFC welterweight championship nine times between 2008 and 2013, and is considered one of the sport’s most highly respected and influential ambassadors.