GSP calls new UFC ownership 'unreachable'

Georges St-Pierre's comeback trail is at a standstill.

At Wednesday's premiere of "Kickboxer: Vengeance," St-Pierre revealed his team has run into some setbacks in discussing his return with the UFC's new owners, WME-IMG.

"We wanted to get in touch," St-Pierre said, according to MMAFighting's Marc Raimondi. "They were supposed to talk yesterday, but they couldn't reach them. Something happened. They're supposed to reach them. They're unreachable now."

St-Pierre is currently in the midst of a four-month USADA drug testing program necessary for his return to the Octagon. Assuming he makes it through the process without incident, he'll be eligible to re-enter the cage by December. But despite his due diligence and incessant speculation on who he'll face in his first fight in three years, St-Pierre believes the brass' reception of his efforts has been lukewarm.

"GSP" partly attributes the stalemate to the promotion's Reebok deal, which was brokered in his absence from the sport. The agreement prohibits the roster from brandishing their respective sponsors' logos on their apparel, a hindrance to many a fighter's cash flow.

"It's a lot of the Reebok deal, but it's also other things, too. The Reebok deal is part of it and it changed a lot of the infrastructure of the contract."

The former champ alleges he's had to turn down a number of ventures, namely film roles, in his devotion to his comeback. Those missed opportunities have somewhat soured St-Pierre, who sees himself making a definitive long-term career choice should WME-IMG fail to meet his "reasonable" terms.

"I've refused a lot of projects because of this. At one point, I'll have to make a choice. I want to stay sharp. I want to stay in shape. It's either you go in movies or you go in fighting. You have to do one good."

Company PR man Dave Sholler reportedly claimed negotiations between both parties are still ongoing.

St-Pierre is represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a reported competitor to WME-IMG. He does not believe their antagonistic relationship will jeopardize his UFC return.