One would think that when Georges St-Pierre retired from MMA, the talk of the superstar would at least die down a little bit over time. However, since “Rush” retired, it has only fueled more discussion as to when the longtime former UFC welterweight champion would come back to reclaim his throne as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
Unfortunately, that talk has never had any substance. In fact, St-Pierre seems even further from returning to the sport he dominated for many years. He seems perfectly content to remain retired.
Much like Gina Carano, St-Pierre has found life outside of the cage very fruitful — and less painful, too. St-Pierre has moved on from the sport. He is just living his life and enjoying the opportunities, albeit nothing major, that Hollywood throws at him.
The 33-year-old St-Pierre has seen a rise in that acting part of his life. It wasn’t a big role, but his part in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as the villain Batroc is still a major boost to his acting ambitions. St-Pierre might not yet have the success that Carano has had in her acting career, but the opportunities have been there for him nonetheless. This has only led to further push him away from the world of competitive sports.
Then there’s MMA’s battle with performance-enhancing drugs. St-Pierre has been very vocal about his dislike of the UFC and athletic commission policies toward steroids, claiming a return isn’t likely until more stringent drug testing is implemented.
In returning to the sport, St-Pierre risks running into somebody who is a steroid user and enduring the possible beating that awaits. Sure, St-Pierre is still a highly skilled athlete, but who knows what the time out of the cage has done to a fighter with bad knees? Ring rust could certainly hurt St-Pierre, and he’d carry that ring rust into a battle against either the champion or a a top-10 fighter. The UFC could feed him an easy win, but St-Pierre’s stature makes a high-profile return the most logical assumption.
With their positions as top stars in mixed martial arts and their transitions to the silver screen, St-Pierre and Carano have a lot in common. However, there is one big difference: St-Pierre is definitely the far superior fighter. However, the attention each would draw in a return is second to none.
But will they ever don the four-ounce gloves again?
Carano has been heavily linked with a return to the sport, but every time the talk rises it eventually dies down. Why? Because the sport is brutal and comebacks are hard, regardless of skill level. Why risk the beating if the outside world is treating you well? If you’re getting roles in movies, why return to a sport that needs some serious changes to its PED testing?
As much as we all may clamor for the day St-Pierre returns to the cage, it doesn’t make much sense from his perspective. The same is true for Carano.
We can sit here every month and discuss a return for either St-Pierre or Carano, but the allure of Hollywood, the money that can be made outside of the cage and the fact that they won’t have to step into a cage to fight another person will keep them out of the sport. That is just another thing they have in common: they’re gone, and as much as we may want them to come back, they aren’t going to do it.
It’s the smart play for both of them, a man with a history of bad injuries to important parts of his body and a woman who took a bad beating against the best woman in her division in her last fight. They will stay where they can live a better life. They don’t need to fight, and no amount of talk and rumors will change that.