Sources: GSP to announce retirement from UFC

7:04 am | February 20, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

11:54 AM ET

Georges St-Pierre, arguably the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time, is set to retire.

According to multiple sources, St-Pierre will announce his retirement at a news conference in Montreal on Thursday morning.

RDS first reported the news Wednesday.

St-Pierre, 37, had hoped secure a fight against lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year, sources say. However, once it was clear that fight would not materialize, the longtime welterweight champion decided it was time to walk away.

The UFC is aware of St-Pierre’s decision and is helping to organize the press conference, according to sources.

The Saint-Isidore, Quebec-born St-Pierre (26-2) last fought at UFC 217 in November 2017, when he defeated Michael Bisping to win the UFC middleweight title at Madison Square Garden. At the time, the victory made GSP just the fourth fighter in UFC history to win belts in two weight classes.

St-Pierre made his MMA debut in January 2002. He started his career a perfect 5-0 before getting signed by the UFC in 2003. He won the UFC welterweight title at UFC 65 in 2006 when he defeated Matt Hughes. He ended up losing the title in his very next fight, though, when he was upset by Matt Serra at UFC 69 in 2007. That fight is considered one of the greatest upsets in MMA history. GSP would avenge that loss the following year at UFC 83, and in doing so regained the belt at the first UFC event in his hometown of Montreal.

During his title reign, St-Pierre was viewed as one of the faces of the UFC and Canadian MMA. He headlined the promotion’s debut in Toronto at UFC 129 in front of 55,724 partisan fans at the Rogers Centre.

St-Pierre walked away from the sport in November 2013 following his split-decision win over Johny Hendricks — his ninth successful title defense — though he never officially said he was retiring. His next fight came four years later when he dethroned Bisping at 185 pounds.

Following the fight, GSP stayed in the Octagon a little longer to acknowledge the crowd. That would end up being his final moments as an UFC active fighter.