Georges St. Pierre Doesn’t Think He Will Compete at 185 Pounds If He Fights in UFC Again

It was never a given that Georges St. Pierre would return to the Octagon following his victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 217.

However, if he does, it isn’t likely to be at 185 pounds. In an interview with TSN, St. Pierre expressed doubts about competing in the middleweight division if he does elect to fight again.

“We’ll talk about it, but I’m not sure if I compete I will go back at 185,” St. Pierre said. “I don’t think so.”

After a decorated career as the sport’s greatest welterweight, St. Pierre returned from a four-year hiatus to claim 185-pound gold with a third-round submission of Bisping on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York. After the victory, both St. Pierre and UFC President Dana White revealed that the Tristar Gym representative was contractually obligated to defend the middleweight title if he defeated Bisping. White went one step further, saying he would be ”super pissed” if St. Pierre didn’t live up to the terms of that deal.

Of course, there is always St. Pierre’s health to consider. According to John Danaher, St. Pierre’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach, the fight dealt with severe stomach pains and vomiting that left him unable to train for two weeks of his Bisping camp. Recently, St. Pierre announced that ulcerative colitis was the cause of his difficult training camp, leaving an exact date for his hypothetical UFC return unclear.

Regardless, St. Pierre doesn’t believe that 185 pounds is his best natural weight. For now, it sounds as though he would prefer to return to welterweight.

“Of course, in terms of weight, if I want to go back to compete at 185, I will -- obviously eating, like I did what I did, I learned from my mistakes, I don’t think it’s a good thing to do, force myself to eat to gain muscle mass,” St. Pierre said. “I’ve always been against performance-enhancing drugs, and I did it the natural way. There is no easy way. I did it the hard way and it was to gain weight and to maintain my muscles mass and it was very hard and it was not healthy. I think the body has a natural weight it can perform at its best athletic ability and for me, the weight that I am now is my perfect weight.”