Former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre reigned supreme over the welterweight division for nearly a decade. St-Pierre hails from Quebec and started learning Karate to defend himself from his bully. Over time, the kid from Quebec learned wrestling, jiu-jitsu and MMA to start fighting professionally at 20 years of age.
He made his UFC debut at UFC 46 and eventually went on to become the welterweight champion. Although Georges was defeated twice during his title reign, he managed to redeem his losses. Due to this he is counted among the greatest fighters in UFC.
The Canadian fighter also happens to be among the few fighters in the UFC to have won titles in two different weight classes. However, after winning the title at middleweight, GSP was diagnosed with a serious health issue. The illness ended up being so severe that he had to walk away from UFC right after his return.
GSP’s battle with Ulcerative Colitis disease and how did he recover from it?
After stepping away from UFC in 2013, GSP decided to make his return after 4 years. Rush decided to move up a division and compete for the middleweight title against Michael Bisping. Although GSP managed to defeat Michael and won the fight, he was later diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.
Colitis is a chronic, inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. Although St-Pierre has no solid proof of how he caught the disease, he believes it was due to his diet. The Canadian fighter kept eating every two hours which put a lot of strain on his digestive system.
“Before my last fight with Michael Bisping I tried to put on weight. During the stress and everything during my training camp I had big problem. I couldn’t sleep had crazy cramps, had blood when I went to the bathroom,” said GSP during his interview with Joe Rogan.
Despite the trouble, GSP decided to continue with the Bisping fight and became the middleweight champion. He later had a colonoscopy that revealed he was diagnosed with Ulcerative colitis.
Although the disease cannot be completely cured it can be treated. Soon after the results of the diagnosis, GSP went on medications and also adopted a different diet. St-Pierre went on an intermittent fasting diet and followed a healthy lifestyle which helped him see major improvements.
Due to this approach, the symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis have drastically diminished and he is in a much better shape. However, his illness and a couple different factors played a huge part when he decided to walk away from MMA for good.
Why did Georges St-Pierre retire from UFC?
Despite being one of the most dominant champions in the sport Georges St-Pierre decided to walk away from MMA in 2013. This move from GSP shocked everyone as he was in his prime and was coming off a win against Johnny Hendricks. However, the Canadian fighter had a huge issue with the usage of PEDs among fighters.
In an interview, Georges revealed that UFC did not have a system to test athletes for banned substances. As such many fighters indulged in the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The corruption in UFC frustrated him to the point of vacating his title and stepping away from MMA.
Only after UFC hired USADA to test it’s athletes for banned substances, St-Pierre came out of retirement to make his return after 4 years. However, instead of fighting in the same division, the 42-year-old decided to move up a weight class. For his win over Bisping, St-Pierre had earned a massive sum of $10 million.
But Georges was battling with Ulcerative Colitis which made him re-think his career choice yet again. The Canadian fighter believed many fighters go past their prime and eventually end up retiring with long-term complications. To avoid that and treat colitis, St-Pierre vacated his middleweight championship and decided to pursue other opportunities outside UFC.
St-Pierre made a career acting in action flicks and also landed roles in MARVEL movies. Despite his success in different ventures, St-Pierre will return to combat sports after six years. The Canadian legend will be participating in a grappling event available on the UFC Fight Pass this December.