UFC: Why Georges St-Pierre Has Nothing to Gain by Staying at Welterweight

Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is set to make a return from an ACL injury later this year in order to defend his belt against interim champion, Carlos Condit. Although many fans will tune in to see St-Pierre grace the Octagon again, it should be the last time we see him at 170 pounds.

GSP has nothing left to accomplish at welterweight and if he wants to continue a meaningful career, it should be at a different weight class.

185 and 155 pounds have been rumored about possible future destinations, but no matter the weigh-in limit, St-Pierre should move on from the welterweight rankings.

His Legacy Is Complete

In his last few bouts, Georges St-Pierre has stated that he's fighting for his legacy.

St-Pierre doesn't need to worry about his legacy as he will undoubtedly go down as the greatest welterweight champion of all time. What will a win against Carlos Condit or Nick Diaz (should that bout come together) add to St-Pierre's legacy?

We've never thought of GSP to run away from a challenge. It's not like there was some other dominant force that he would have gone his whole career without confronting.

There's nothing left for him to add to his legacy while competing at the welterweight level.

Lack of Challengers

Georges St-Pierre's reign of dominance has been so impressive that he has literally cleared out the division. He's defeated top welterweights Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, BJ Penn (twice) and Josh Koscheck (twice).

What you will notice about the names on the list of victims of GSP is that they represent nearly every style in MMA. St-Pierre has defeated boxers, kickboxers, wrestlers and jiu-jitsu artists with ease.

There are some up-and-coming challengers, but you'd be hard pressed to make a case that any of them could handle GSP on the feet or on the mat.

Reign of Dominance

It's not just the fact that Georges St-Pierre hasn't lost since 2007, it's the manner in which he's won.

GSP has dominated virtually everyone put in front of him and avenged the losses on his record. St-Pierre has shown the ability to overwhelm his opponents no matter where the fight takes place.

Against Dan Hardy and Thiago Alves, St-Pierre controlled the action with his wrestling. In his bouts against Jake Shields and Josh Koscheck, GSP was able to dominate with his superior striking techniques.

No matter what discipline his opponents come from, St-Pierre always seems to make them look silly.

Big Money Fights Outside of 170 Pounds

Dana White is in the business of making money, and business would be booming if Georges St-Pierre were to compete outside of the welterweight division.

The long-rumored Anderson Silva-GSP bout would no doubt create a huge amount of revenue for the UFC. If nearly a million people tune in to watch St-Pierre dominate another opponent at 170 pounds, imagine how many would pay to see the two best pound-for-pound fighters square off.

Even if the bout with Silva never happens, which it likely won't, any fight at 185 pounds for St-Pierre would be an instant hit for MMA fans. It would also be very interesting to see St-Pierre dropped into the shark tank that is the lightweight division.

Change is usually something that scares most people, in this case it's definitely necessary.

A New Challenge

When you're as good as Georges St-Pierre is, it's easy to become complacent. Nobody would be surprised if GSP slacked off in his training.

But he doesn't.

Every time we are privileged a glimpse into the life of GSP, we always see him adding new methods to keep his body from plateauing. Whether it be gymnastics or explosive training, St-Pierre is always looking to keep things fresh in his training camps.

A move up or down in weight class would give St-Pierre a new challenge in his fighting career. Instead of being complacent with beating every welterweight on the UFC roster, GSP should begin a new endeavour to create an even better career.