Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre says that he should have retired following his win over Nick Diaz in 2013.

St-Pierre fought Diaz at UFC 158 in March 2013 in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and he won a unanimous decision with a dominant showing that night at Bell Centre. St-Pierre then returned to the Octagon at UFC 167 later that year, where he won a controversial split decision over Johny Hendricks to defend his belt. However, soon after defeating Hendricks, GSP walked away from MMA, though he later returned in 2017 as a middleweight when he defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217 to claim the 185lbs strap.

Speaking to Burt Watson on “Legend 2 Legend,” GSP now admits that he should have stepped away from the game following the fight with Diaz. It’s easier to say that now, knowing how tough the Hendricks fight turned out to be, but even heading into that fight, St-Pierre knew that he needed a break and he now wishes he retired from MMA sooner.

“I think I should have retired after the Nick Diaz fight (in March 2013). I should have taken a break. If I would have done that, perhaps I would have come back earlier in my career, but I did not because I felt the need to always fight the next guy because there was always a next guy, and that’s how I realized as soon as you finish a fight, there’s a next one and a next one, because the sport of mixed martial arts is promoted about what’s next. It’s not promoted about what happened in the past. What’s next, what’s next, sell, sell, sell. We need to sell the next one, build up who’s the next big thing that can beat the champion,” St-Pierre said (via MMAjunkie.com).

Do you agree with Georges St-Pierre that he should have retired following his win over Nick Diaz in 2013?