UFC 167: Dana White Elaborates on Georges St-Pierre's 'Personal Problems'

LAS VEGAS — The bizarre, unsettling conclusion to the UFC's 20th anniversary event at the MGM Grand seemed a little more clear after a post-fight meeting between welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC president Dana White.

St-Pierre retained his title with a controversial split-decision win over challenger Johny Hendricks. It was a decision White (and many others) disagreed with, and he voiced his opinion at the post-fight press conference before St-Pierre arrived after a brief trip to the hospital for stitches.

Following the conclusion of the press conference, White pulled St-Pierre into a room backstage. After a conversation that lasted roughly 15 minutes, a calmer White came back and rejoined the media.

White said he felt much better about the situation, and that St-Pierre would not be retiring. In fact, White said that the UFC's welterweight division would roll along as it normally has and insinuated that St-Pierre would return for a rematch with Hendricks.

"His problems aren't as bad as he thinks they are," White said. "They're personal problems. I talked to him. Lorenzo's still in there talking to him. We'll get through this."

White wouldn't provide details on the conversation he had with St-Pierre but did elaborate on what the champion may be going through.

"One of the things that makes Georges as great as he is...things drive him crazy. Little things drive him nuts. Like the whole obsession thing that he was talking about," White said. "He's very much that way, and he's obsessing over something else that might seem like the end of the world at all. But it's not."

White said he wasn't sure if St-Pierre's performance in the main event could be traced back to personal issues.

"He got his ass whipped tonight," he said. "And whether that was it or it wasn't, I don't know."

White also deflected criticism that he was perhaps a bit harsh on the welterweight champion during his opening remarks at the presser. Earlier, White had vented that St-Pierre owed it to the fans and to Hendricks to return for an immediate rematch.

"I wasn't being harsh. I was honest. It's reality. Tonight's one of those nights where he should've just bit his tongue and not said anything. But he told me 'I just got my head punched in. I didn't know what round it was. I didn't know the fight was over when it was over.'"

All quotes were obtained first hand.