GSP vs Hendricks: St-Pierre Smart to Take a Break After Major Victory

Georges “Rush” St-Pierre and Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks put on quite the controversial show from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at UFC 167.

GSP retained his UFC Welterweight Title via split decision, but the real story came after the bout. A battered and groggy St-Pierre told Joe Rogan he needs to step away from the sport, as documented by CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel:

Fox Sports' Ariel Helwani then added a scary note:

Yikes.

Maybe it's for the best.

St-Pierre has now been in 12 fights since August of 2007. He's won all of them. As arguably the best 170-pound fighter to ever step in the Octagon, the sport is clearly beginning to catch up with GSP after his 27 fights.

The notion that GSP is close to retirement is nothing new. He skillfully dodged the question at the weigh-in for his bout with Hendricks as he told Helwani, as reported by Fox Sports' Damon Martin:

"

I can't tell you...Listen, I don't know when I'm going to retire. It could be tomorrow, could be in one week, it could be in 10 years, could be in five years, I don't know. I take one fight at a time, but I love what I do right now.

"

It's not as if St-Pierre needs to fight for the money. He's a major draw and is already very wealthy, as UFC President Dana White told Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.

St-Pierre has plenty of business ventures he can fall back on as Badenhausen details:

"

GSP is expanding his brand this year in a series of moves. He launched a health and fitness app, Touchfit: GSP, developed by Zolmo that includes an equity stake for St-Pierre. He released a book, The Way of the Fight, which covers his life story and training methods. The book hit No. 30 on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestsellers list. He is finalizing a supplements deal, to be announced shortly, that will rank among his biggest endorsements. A feature length documentary, Takedown: The DNA of GSP, will be released in the spring.

"

So, yes, a step back from the violent sport for the sake of his health is a smart move for GSP.

Besides—what else is left?

GSP has defeated any and all comers. Sure, an up-and-comer like Rory MacDonald (even with a loss to Robbie Lawler on Saturday night) is still out there, but why take the risk?

Time after time we've seen superstars across all sports simply not know when to hang it up. Instead, they come back with a new team, suffer a crippling defeat or otherwise hurt their legacy in one way or another.

The smart ones go out on top.

GSP is a smart one. Regardless of the controversy surrounding his victory over Hendricks (two judges scored it 48-47 in his favor, one the same number against), a win is a win and there is no real point or reason for St-Pierre to hang around.

At the age of 32, GSP is the winningest champion in the history of the promotion. He doesn't need the money. He's relatively healthy given the nature of his career path.

Now is a great time to close the curtains on the UFC portion of his life. Kudos to St-Pierre for the smarts to do so—at least for now.

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