One of the true heavyweights (well, welterweights) of the MMA world is hitting the free agent market. Georges St-Pierre confirmed the news himself on Monday.
Appearing on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, St-Pierre stated that the UFC had released him from his contract and he was a free agent.
“You heard it right,” St-Pierre said “I’m a free agent.”
The news comes as a bit of a shocker to many (including St-Pierre himself) and apparently was made after UFC failed to come up with a fight to offer him before a contracted deadline. The effort got lost in the shuffle amid the purchase of the UFC by WME-IMG over the summer. The new owners pulled the offer for a fight and put everything on hold in the meantime. The clock then expired, allowing St-Pierre to become a free agent.
“It was like a shock, because we felt like we were making progress, we were almost there,” St-Pierre said. “When they told us that, I got angry.”
This does not necessarily mean St-Pierre is done with UFC, but he is now able to field offers from any suitor he wishes. When he returns to the sport also remains in question, as he has expressed a desire to take some down time to gather himself from a stressful negotiating period.
“I’m truly confident I can beat the guys that are champions right now,” St-Pierre claims. “I’m that confident. At least I’m a free man. Now, I know I’m free. I have other options. I’m not caught up legally with a contract. I’m a free man.”
St-Pierre had two reigns as UFC Welterweight champion, with his final reign lasting nearly six years following his defeat of Matt Hughes to win the interim belt on December 29, 2007. St-Pierre would defeat Matt Serra on April 19, 2008 to unify the belts, and proceeded to successfully defend his championship nine times. He last fought on November 16, 2013, defeating Johny Hendricks via split decision to retain his title. A month later, he forfeited the title, and it’s been successfully defended a total of two times since.
