Georges St-Pierre's Final UFC Fight May Be in the Name of Contractual Freedom

The greatest welterweight of all time appears to be headed toward the biggest fight of his career. And no, it's not a return at UFC 206 in Toronto.

Georges St-Pierre announced Monday that he is a free agent, telling Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting's Marc Raimondi) that negotiations with the UFC had faltered since new ownership took over and he was moving on.

UPDATE: Monday, October 17 at 10:30 pm ET

Bleacher Report MMA writer Patrick Wyman screen grabbed the UFC's response to GSP stating he was a free agent. The UFC's PR department sent the response via email earlier tonight. As Wyman noted, buckle up for what's sure to be an ugly battle.

"

Opening salvoes in what's sure to be an ugly battle. GSP will win the war for public opinion if White sticks with his current tack, though. pic.twitter.com/tR3vlvrfoE

— Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) October 18, 2016"

 ---End of Update---

It's a shocking turn of events considering the momentum a GSP return has collected in recent months, with his constant lobbying for a fight by the end of the year, his official return as a U.S. Anti-Drug Agency-tested athlete and his public (and bizarre) jousting in the media with UFC President Dana White.

At a time when star power is driving the sport more than ever, the notion that the UFC didn't appear interested in bringing back one of the biggest draws it's ever had was a curious development. St-Pierre now seems willing to call the UFC's apparent bluff to maximum effect.

"You heard it right," he told Helwani. "I'm a free agent."

He continued: "I have other options. I'm not caught up legally with a contract. I'm a free man."

The UFC may not see things the same way, and if past history is any indication, you can bet it'll feel a particularly litigious itch when it comes time to fire back. Regardless, the former champion's intentions are clear.

The whole point of being a free agent is contractual freedom. St-Pierre may have an eye on freeing himself from the clutches of the UFC and hitting the market to see what he's worth to the sport at large.

And as much of a gentleman as he is, no one would doubt his interest in a good fight.

He's already enlisted the help of James Quinn of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a law firm with considerable experience in "high-stakes commercial disputes." Though Quinn is perhaps not as keen to hit a double leg or throw combinations as his newest client, he has waged fights in sports and entertainment by way of representing college athletes as well as players in the four major professional sports.

The awards he's collected total into the billions. So yeah, a fight seems to be brewing.

The interesting part is the nature of the fight itself. With St-Pierre already proclaiming victory and the UFC oddly mum as of Monday evening, a storm appears to be on the horizon. Fighters have been increasingly unhappy with the UFC's treatment in the back half of 2016, with multiple athletes voicing intention to quit the sport rather than being oppressed any further by the promotion.

Some have even already followed through.

It appears GSP will look to fight the UFC in a way that no one successfully has by attempting to undermine his contract with it.

UFC deals are notoriously favorable to the promoter and functionally ironclad in their structure, language and implementation, so much so that wealthy fighters of eras past accepted defeat after rallying against the company. Others have gone so far as to give up the rights to their own likeness rather than testing the legal mettle of the UFC.

St-Pierre is a different case, however. He's an athlete who is effectively retired and independently wealthy, someone who may be willing to fight for a principle rather than fighting in the cage on a deal he finds offensive. He seemingly doesn't like the way fighters are being treated, and now he appears to have the motivation to do something about it considering how the UFC has treated him in recent months.

The oddity on which all parties remain silent is how avoidable this all was. Between White railing against the Canadian's return and St-Pierre himself stating that inflexibility from management was the biggest stumbling block in the negotiations, it looks like the promotion chose not to play ball with one of the faces that defined its largest growth period.

A willingness to allow some Under Armour instead of some Reebok and some Gatorade instead of some Monster Energy, or a willingness to compensate for those things, and none of this may come to fruition. St-Pierre could have been happy and back in the Octagon, fighters would remain without a name to unify behind and the UFC would have made a fortune all around.

Yet here we are, with St-Pierre fixing for his final UFC fight, except it's seemingly in the name of an ideal instead of in the cage. Contractual freedom may be his last stand.

Follow me on Twitter: @matthewjryder