Georges St-Pierre says suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder was a key factor in his decision to step away from the UFC.
In a recent interview, the former welterweight champion explained that while having OCD was good for his career in the cage, it was doing damage to his mental health.
“As a fighter it’s a good thing to have it, because it makes you better because you completely obsess about being a better martial artist,” St-Pierre told CBC in an interview released Tuesday. “Every day, everything you do is oriented around that goal. But the same thing could be bad for a normal person in normal life.”
Following a controversial decision win over Johny Hendricks in the main event of UFC 167 last November, the Saint-Isidore, Que., native announced he needed a break from MMA for personal reasons. He later added that he was mentally worn out and was having trouble sleeping at night. In December, St-Pierre officially vacated his title.
“This same obsession I have about my work, my job, to make me better, it was going to drive me crazy. That’s why I took that break,” St-Pierre said. “I don’t call it a retirement because I don’t know if it will be, but I had to step out of the competition for a while.”
The 32-year-old has spent more minutes competing in the Octagon than anyone else in UFC history and the constant pressure of preparing for high-profile fights was a heavy mental burden to bear.
“If you lose a race or game in hockey, you lose a game. That’s it.” St-Pierre said. “If you lose a fight you might lose part of your brain because of the damage. Your wellbeing is on the line.”
Although he acknowledges the risks inherent to MMA, the Canadian insists he is feeling no physical effects from competing and that he left the sport mainly for mental health reasons.
Another factor that contributed to his leave of absence was his belief the UFC can do more to prevent performance-enhancing drugs from infiltrating the sport. UFC president Dana White argued that St-Pierre was being critical of the UFC because he was angry at White for saying he thought Hendricks should have won the fight.
“He’s probably the best promoter in the world and I’m not angry at Dana White [or] these things he said at the press conference,” St-Pierre told Sportsnet Tuesday. “It’s his opinion. I have my opinion. Different people have different opinions. His job is to promote the fight and he doesn’t care if people like it or hate it.”
Since vacating his belt, St-Pierre says he has been happy and healthy and that he enjoyed spending New Year’s and Christmas with his family, something he hadn’t been able to do for years without cutting the festivities short due to his fighting career.
St-Pierre made his UFC debut in January 2004 and amassed a 19-2 record in the promotion. He was the UFC’s top pay-per-view draw and is regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the sport’s history. He stepped away from the UFC on a 12-fight win streak and had successfully defended his title nine consecutive times. He holds the UFC record for most wins, total strikes landed, significant strikes landed, takedowns landed, and total time spent competing in a UFC cage.
