Sherdog.com’s 2013 Story of the Year

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3. GSP Walks Away

It is not often -- especially in combat sports -- when a celebrated champion walks away from his area of excellence under his own terms, but that is exactly what Georges St. Pierre did. The longtime UFC welterweight king announced his intentions to vacate the belt and take an extended leave of absence during a media conference call in December. It remains unclear when “Rush” might return to the Octagon, if ever.

“I’ve talked with Dana [White] and Lorenzo [Fertitta] about it,” St. Pierre said. “I’ve been fighting for long time. I’ve had 22 fights in the UFC at a very high level, and I decided I need to take some time off. I know the UFC is a business, and they have to keep things rolling. I don’t want to make people wait out of the respect for the sport, so I vacate the title. One day, when I feel like it, I might come back, but right now, I need a break.”

Though St. Pierre’s decision was an impactful one, it hardly came as a surprise, as the 32-year-old hinted at his plans immediately after scoring a controversial split decision victory over Johny Hendricks in the UFC 167 headliner.

“Listen, there was a lot of talk about what was going to happen,” St. Pierre said in his post-fight interview. “I have a bunch of stuff in my life happening. I need to hang up my gloves for a little bit and make a point of [focusing] on my life. I have to step away for a little bit. That’s all I can say right now. I just got punched a little bit. Later on, I’ll make a point on that, but right now I have to go away for a little bit.”

St. Pierre, in fact, got punched a lot in his encounter with Hendricks, despite walking away with the win. The verdict was decried by some as a travesty, but others defended the round-by-round scores for the champion in spite of Hendricks wearing virtually no superficial damage in contrast to St. Pierre’s unmistakably black-and-blue visage.

Regardless of how one scored the bout, the effort put forth by both fighters was more than deserving of praise and admiration. Whether St. Pierre returns to the Octagon down the road is unimportant at this time. His accomplishments have sealed his place as a future hall of famer.

Should St. Pierre make a comeback, fans will no doubt turn out in droves to watch him. If he does not, he can still rest easy knowing that most regard him as the greatest 170-pounder to ever strap on a pair of four-ounce gloves.

Number Four » Fallon Fox