Stephen Thompson explains why he’d “hate” to fight Georges St-Pierre

UFC welterweight #1 contender Stephen Thompson’s affiliation with Tristar is well documented. Prior to ‘Wonderboy’ making the transition from kickboxing to MMA, the undefeated kickboxer trained at Tristar under coach Firas Zahabi, alongside the likes of UFC legend Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald, where he helped St-Pierre train for several bouts, including his scrap with Carlos Condit in 2014.

With the recent news of St-Pierre signing a new multi-fight contract with the UFC, and Thompson currently gearing up for his UFC 209 rematch with Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title, Thompson was asked about a potential GSP fight during an interview on Fight Society, to which he explained:

“I would hate [fighting him]. I would hate the day where I would have to step out there with a guy who inspired me first in kickboxing to [try] mixed martial arts. He was my inspiration,” Thompson told the Fight Society podcast. “He’s a good friend of mine. That would be a hard one to be honest with you just emotionally because he’s a good bud. But you never know.

“You never know what the UFC’s going to bring. Of course, I know we’re both businessmen and professionals. It’s kind of like with Rory [MacDonald], I’ve got a little better relationship with Georges than I did with Rory. I don’t know. We’ll just have to see. I would not want to just because of the relationship we have but it is business.”

“For me it is about fighting the best people in the world and proving that I am the best fighter, not only to the world but to myself,” Thompson said. “I’ve been doing this since I was three years old and this is who I am. This is my life and I want to be the best. I do it for the honor and the glory and it’s not about that big paycheck.”

Only time will tell who St-Pierre’s first opponent will be, however the current odds are predicting that UFC middleweight Michael Bisping will welcome GSP back to the cage.

on 2/25/2017.