GSP still negotiating with UFC despite involvement with MMAAA
Don't rule out seeing GSP in the Octagon again just yet.
Last week, Georges St-Pierre made serious waves in the MMA industry when he appeared as one of the founding members of the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association, a group dedicated to combating the financial injustices of the sport. The MMAAA specifically appears to be targeting the business practices of the UFC, the promotion St-Pierre competed in for almost a decade.
The association also includes active UFC fighters Donald Cerrone, TJ Dillashaw, Tim Kennedy, and Cain Velasquez.
That looming conflict, however, apparently hasn't stopped St-Pierre from talking to the UFC about ending a three-year hiatus. The former welterweight champion and his legal team consider him to be a free agent, but the Octagon remains a likely destination for his comeback.
St-Pierre spoke to TSN on Wednesday and provided an update on his latest communications with the UFC.
"Actually, the night that we launched the association we received a letter, (St-Pierre's agent) Rodolphe (Beaulieu) received a letter from the UFC lawyer saying that they want to renew the negotiation with me because at the point where I was before the negotiation, the communication was cut. So we didn't have any kind of communication," St-Pierre said, according to MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew.
When St-Pierre entered the USADA testing pool this past September, it sparked speculation that his return to MMA competition was inevitable and that he could be booked as the headliner for UFC 206 in Toronto. In 2011, he shattered the North American attendance and gate records for an MMA event when he fought Jake Shields in the main event of UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre.
Unfortunately for MMA fans, a deal could not be made in time, and it looks as though the the UFC and GSP are back to square one at the negotiating table.
"I was hoping earlier to get on the card for Toronto but it's not happening and now I guess they'll keep talking and we'll see if they can come to an agreement," St-Pierre said. "Same story as before but now I have more options. I'm (a) free agent. I don't have to be in the UFC. I could go somewhere else."