Georges St-Pierre “never enjoyed one second in the Octagon”

It’s no secret that former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre had a complicated relationship with his chosen profession.

During a recent interview with ESPN, however, St-Pierre turned some heads by admitting that he never enjoyed a single second he spent in the UFC’s Octagon.

Whenever @GeorgesStPierre gets the itch to compete again, he’s reminded of the stress that accompanies fighting.

(via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/odaJCN4dXy

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 14, 2020

“Sometimes when I’m in the gym or I watch a fight, I’m excited,” St-Pierre said. “I’m looking at the fight and I think ‘I know I can beat these guys,’ you know? Then after I wake up in the morning or before I go to bed, I tell myself ‘what the hell am I thinking. To hell with this.’

“I don’t want to go back into that stressful lifestyle, you know?” St-Pierre continued. “I love what fighting gave me—the freedom, the wealth, the money, all the advantage that comes with it—but I actually don’t like to fight. I never enjoyed one second in the Octagon in my entire career. I just liked to do it because because I’m very good with it and I like what it gives me. But I don’t like the actual fight. It’s very stressful.”

Georges St-Pierre last fought in 2017, when he ended a long-standing retirement to return to the cage for a middleweight title fight with Michael Bisping. St-Pierre wound up capturing the title, becoming one of just a few fighters in UFC history to hold belts in two weight classes.

Shortly after this historic win, St-Pierre retired again. While he has since been linked to a fight with undefeated UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, it seems like his retirement will stick this time around.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/21/2020.