Former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who vacated his title to take an indefinite break in 2013, has signed a new agreement to return to the UFC.
On Friday, UFC president Dana White told the Los Angeles Times that St-Pierre, 35, officially agreed to the deal on Thursday after a lengthy negotiating process. The signing reunites the UFC with one of its most consistent pay-per-view draws in history.
St-Pierre, the longest reigning 170-pound champion in UFC history, hasn’t fought in 39 months since his split-decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. He walked away following the grueling and disputed win, citing a need for time off while questioning the UFC’s drug-testing policies. In July 2015, the UFC introduced an anti-doping policy enforced by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
A return date and opponent have not yet been announced. White mentioned the winner of the UFC 209 welterweight title rematch between champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson as a possible foe for St-Pierre. He also mentioned middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who claimed last October he verbally agreed to the fight, forcing White to shut down the rumor.
White also teased that St-Pierre has talked about the possibility of cutting down to 155 pounds.
St-Pierre had previously announced his intentions to return last July but a new deal was never finalized.
In October, GSP publicly stated he had terminated his existing contract with the UFC and announced himself as a free agent, citing a breach of contract for the promotion not offering him a fight. Hours later, the UFC responded and claimed that he remained under contract. The two sides appeared to grow further apart in November when St-Pierre joined former Bellator MMA CEO Bjorn Rebney and a group of fellow fighters in publicly aligning themselves with the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA).
White admitted to the LA Times that it took two friends of St-Pierre to play a key role in brokering the deal in recent days. The Times identified the two individuals as boxing coach Freddie Roach and St-Pierre’s CAA agent, Nick Khan.
St-Pierre, a native of Quebec, has worn the UFC’s welterweight crown on two occasions. He was on a 12-fight winning streak when he walked away and hasn’t lost since a 2007 first-round knockout to Matt Serra, widely considered among the greatest upsets in UFC history. St-Pierre avenged that loss three fights later.
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