Firas Zahabi: Georges St. Pierre “50/50” On Return To Fighting
UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre’s status as a fighter remains in limbo after his controversial win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. Many rumors have come and gone about GSP’s vague statement of taking time off from the sport, but the fact remains he just needs some time to contemplate his next move.
His head trainer Firas Zahabi recently met up with Sportsnet to discuss the champ’s situation. He didn’t exactly shed a ton of light on it:
“He calls me everyday, we talk for a few minutes. Right now it’s about clearing his emotions, finding out what he wants to do with life. He’s been fighting for so long, you know, putting off his social life for so long, making a lot of sacrifices. It’s almost seven years that he’s champion, he’s had 22 fights in UFC, logged in I don’t know how many five round fights. I think he needs to settle down, settle his mind, and figure out what he wants to do. I don’t know. It’s 50/50 and I don’t think he knows either. I think if he ends it this way, it was good. He ended up with a Fight of the Night. Incredible seesaw battle. He showed heart, he showed guts, he showed he’s a fighter. I don’t know. Honestly, I have no idea.
Zahabi makes a good point in stating that St. Pierre has not been able to have much of a life outside of fighting. However, that’s just part of the deal when you dedicate your existence to being champion. The only thing St. Pierre really has left to accomplish in MMA is to beat Hendricks beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Many thought “Bigg Rigg” had finally wrested the belt away from the longtime champ, but the judges at MGM Grand saw it differently. Zahabi agreed with them, giving his take on the razor-thin decision:
“I agree with the judges decision. Because it really came down to one round. Round two and four is Johny’s, round three and five is Georges’, unarguably, and round one is the only one that could have gone ether way. I gave it to Georges because Georges was a little bit more aggressive and connected a little bit more with the significant shots. Georges landed 14 strikes from the standing position and Hendricks landed one.”
Zahabi gives a pretty concise point of view on the match regardless of how you feel about the outcome. He also touched on his other star pupil that fought on November 16, Rory MacDonald. “Ares” lost a decision to Robbie Lawler, significantly decreasing his considerable hype. But Zahabi insists greatness is still on the horizon for the young MacDonald:
“You know he’s a young kid. I think a lot of people put a lot of weight on his shoulders. I think he’s going to become great, I think he’s going to become champion, but he needs time to become seasoned. He’s growing exponentially. You know, when Georges was coming up it was a different UFC than it is now. Now guys are well rounded from day one and they 20-30 fights more than you, so you gotta be careful with that. I think people need to learn that he’s still so young and he’s growing. I told him listen, you got going too late.”
MacDonald may have had too much pressure on his shoulders because many had already anointed him as GSP’s heir apparent. He has been criticized for looking tentative in his two fights this year. MacDonald has admitted that fighting wasn’t fun for him this year but now he’s got his fire back.
It’s been a trying few weeks for the TriStar crew as they try to sort through all of the wreckage of UFC 167. We still don’t have an answer on St. Pierre’s future in the cage because he doesn’t even know what he will do next. What do you predict as his next course of action?
Outer Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie for USA TODAY Sports
