Reports are surfacing now that Georges St-Pierre, who has long been accused of steroid use due to his freakishly sculpted physique, that PED testing factored into his decision to leave the UFC indefinitely.
After earning a controversial victory over Johny "Big Rig" Hendricks at UFC 167 in Las Vegas in November, St-Pierre made the surprise move to vacate his belt and take an indefinite leave from the company, with no assurances he'd ever return.
"I can't sleep at night now, I have issues. I am going crazy," GSP said at his post fight press conference. "I need to make a point, man. I need to get out for awhile. i don't know what I'm going to do. I feel like I am going to let everything out now, but I need to keep some things personal. I give everything I have tonight. Like it, love it, I give everything, that's all I can say."
Hendricks had been one of GSP's biggest doubters with regards to fighting clean, but St-Pierre is saying his inability to incorporate VADA into the UFC's testing procedure before his match played a role in his leaving. VADA, the Voluntary Anti Doping Association.
"It bothered me greatly," St-Pierre said, according to the Canadian Press. "It was one of the reasons I decided to step aside. I tried to change things and unfortunately -- maybe for money reasons, maybe for image -- they were not ready to do that. I tried in a very diplomatic way and it didn't work, so it's unfortunate, but I believe it will happen sooner or later."
Hendricks opted to use the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his testing; when he learned VADA would be paying for GSP's testing and not St-Pierre himself he came to distrust their relationship. UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta expressed shock at GSP's comments.
"We've made it clear, through presentations at various athletic commissions, that we advocate for the most rigorous drug testing possible," Fertitta said. "We've actually advocated for harsher penalties for PEDs.
"Maybe Georges didn't understand the level of drug testing Nevada was doing. They are the ultimate authority that handles drug testing, medicals and everything else -- and they are very capable."
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