THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — The prognosis for UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s eye is looking good.
"He’s going to be fine," trainer Firas Zahabi told The Canadian Press on Monday. "He’s got to take 10 days off. There was some bleeding inside the eye from the fight."
St-Pierre (22-2) complained of visions problems in his left eye during his decision win over Jake Shields at UFC 129 on Saturday. Zahabi believes the problem occurred in the third round when Shields connected with a left with his fingers outstretched.
"He complained to me after that round that he couldn’t see out of his eye and it was just getting worse," said Zahabi, who accompanied the champion to hospital. "By Round 5, I guess the blood had accumulated and he was having a lot of difficulty seeing."
Zahabi said the initial fear was that it was a detached retina.
"But it wasn’t. His eye’s going to be fine," he said. "It was a little scary … he did the eye test and failed it. And they couldn’t see inside his eye because there was an obstruction inside the eye.
"It turned out to be just blood and not a detached retina. So he’s very lucky that there is no permanent injury there."
Zahabi thought it was just an accident. "The gloves are open-handed so that kind of thing can happen."
Asked after the fight what he had done to cause the damage, Shields replied dryly: "I punched him in the eye."
As for the champion’s mood after winning by decision, Zahabi said: "He was a little disappointed he didn’t get the finish.
"For me, I think it’s just going to push him harder. He’s going to go back to the drawing board like we always do."
Last week, the 29-year-old champion from Montreal talked of wanting to take some time off after the Shields bout.
"After this fight, I’m leaving, I’m going away," he told reporters. "I’m going somewhere for sure. I need a break, mentally. I haven’t taken a break for a long time. It’s been like a year straight.
"After Hardy (Dan Hardy at UFC 111 in March 2010), I was in the reality show with (Josh) Koscheck. I (had to) play mind games all the time with Koscheck. And then I had the fight with Koscheck (at UFC 124 in December). Then immediately they announced me fighting Jake Shields.
"I’m the type of guy if they say who I’m fighting, I cannot take vacation. I need to train. The fight starts when I know who and when I’m fighting."
Said Zahabi: "Last year he didn’t get to enjoy his summer at all. He wasn’t in town. So it’s been a while now. He needs some time off."
Notes — Mike Pierce will take on Johny Hendricks on Aug. 6 at UFC 133 in Philadelphia.
