Coach John Danaher Says Georges St. Pierre May Never Fight Again

Georges St. Pierre recently won the UFC Middleweight Title by defeating Michael Bisping at UFC 217, but then relinquished the title due to health concerns.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach John Danaher has worked with the two-division champion for years, and thinks the fighter may not return to the cage

“That is a definite possibility (that GSP never fights again),” he said on The MMA Hour. “I don’t want to say yes or no because it’s not my decision, really. These are deeply personal decisions that Georges has to make. More over, they have to be made not as spur of the moment decisions. These are life-changing decisions, so they will have to made on the basis of Georges’ reaction to the medications that he’s taking for ulcerative colitis. From what I understand, the standard medications for ulcerative colitis take some considerable amount time to take effect – anywhere from three to eight months – before you’ll even notice any changes. We have to see how he reacts to his medication regiment and make a decision based on that.”

GSP just returned from a four-plus year hiatus to compete at UFC 217, with his last fight before that coming at UFC 167.

Danaher firmly believes that if it wasn’t for the recent ulcerative colitis diagnosis, fans would see GSP back in the Octagon.

“I know for a fact that prior to the Bisping fight the answer was yes (about fighting again). Since this medical problem has come up and become so prevalent and emerged so strongly in the middle of the last camp – it’s an open question at this point. It’ll be determined by how he reacts to the medication that he is on,” says Danaher.

Since GSP gave up the UFC Middleweight Title, UFC Interim Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker has been declared the undisputed middleweight champion.