Freddie Roach says he’d advise GSP to leave the ‘monopoly’ UFC but it’s ‘the only game in town’

Ex-UFC Welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre abdicated his title and walked away from mixed martial arts following a controversial split-decision win over Johny Hendricks at…

By: Nate Wilcox | 10 years ago
Freddie Roach says he’d advise GSP to leave the ‘monopoly’ UFC but it’s ‘the only game in town’
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Ex-UFC Welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre abdicated his title and walked away from mixed martial arts following a controversial split-decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. His boxing coach Freddie Roach spoke to Fight Huband had some interesting thoughts on when and if GSP will return and why he went on hiatus from the UFC (transcribed by MMA Mania):

“He told me he wanted to take two years off and I told him two years was retirement. Let’s stick with one year right now and see how you feel and if you feel hungry enough to get back in there, we’ll do it. If not, we’ll call it a day. He had headaches and so forth. You don’t want to hear that. It’s really easy to make a decision after a tough fight like that and after Dana talking really bad about him, getting him depressed and so forth, dragging him down. Most promoters would try to build you back up, but Dana’s not that kind of cat. I’d think about going to another company if that was me, but UFC is a monopoly, it’s the only game in town. I’m sure if he wants to come back, Dana will be the first one to invite him.”

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About the author
Nate Wilcox
Nate Wilcox

Nate Wilcox is the founding editor of BloodyElbow.com. As such he has hired every editor and writer to work for the site. Wilcox’s writing for BE is known for its emphasis on MMA history, the evolution of fighting techniques and strong opinions. Wilcox developed the SBN MMA consensus rankings which were featured in USA Today from 2009 to 2011. Before founding BE, Wilcox was a political operative working for such figures as Senators John Kerry and Mark Warner and an early political blogger. He is the co-author of Netroots Rising, a history of the political blogosphere from 2003 to 2007. Wilcox also hosts the Let It Roll podcast on music history for the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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