After winning a controversial split decision over Johny Hendricks at their UFC 167 clash in 2013, GOAT contender Georges St-Pierre did something a bit strange. He told Joe Rogan in the Octagon interview that he had “a bunch of stuff in my life happening” and needed to “hang up my gloves for a bit.” So ‘GSP’, who was the reigning welterweight champion at the time, went on hiatus, leaving the division in flux. And as you can imagine, that did not go down well with UFC CEO Dana White at all.

“He could retire. There’s no ‘hey listen, I’m going to take a hiatus, I’m going to take a leave of absence. Whatever the hell it was that he was saying, that’s not how it works. You owe it to the fans, you owe it to that belt, you owe it to this company and you owe it to Johny Hendricks to give him that opportunity to fight again, unless you’re going to retire,” a clearly incensed White thundered after UFC 167.

But thankfully, the French-Canadian came back, albeit four years later, and fought Michael Bisping to win the middleweight title at UFC 217 in 2017. However, the GOAT contender retired right after submitting ‘The Count’ in the third round, without passing the torch to the next generation, as Dana White and co. want all their champions to do.

So you can imagine that the duo had a frosty relationship for some time. But time, as they say, heals all wounds. And it seems that is true in the case of ‘GSP’ and White, too, as the former welterweight and middleweight champ recalled how he had a run-in with Dana White at a recent UFC event, who even sent him a very thoughtful gift.

“I am [on] good terms with Dana. I saw him in Saudi Arabia last time and we’re good friends and we talked about stuff we could not talk before like things I was thinking during negotiation and he was thinking going on and its funny we have a funny relationship and I love Dana.”

“He’s a good guy and he gave me actually a device that helps me sleep. He send it in my house. It’s something that costs a lot of money. It’s frequency, it sends your body frequency, and it helps you sleep, and it’s amazing. I have a great relationship with Dana, and I like him,” a beaming ‘GSP’ told Ariel Helwani.

But as far as his decision to retire right after coming back following a four-year hiatus, the former champ remains defiant and explains why he thinks that was the right thing to do.

Georges St-Pierre on why fighters should be ‘selfish’

“When you retire, maybe you have another half of your life to live. So it’s important you stay healthy as you can. And also if you retire on a winning streak, you know they tell you to pass the torch.  There’s something that you cannot beat, it’s time… They tell you pass the torch. F–k that. Don’t pass the torch. Retire on your turn, not on their turn. It’s a selfish sport and you have to be selfish… When you feel it’s time to retire, retire… I don’t regret it,” he said.

The GOAT contender also told Helwani that after his 2017 clash against Michael Bisping, he “got ulcer colitis” and “was on heavy medication.” Ulcerative colitis is a chronic condition that causes inflammation and ulcers in the colon and rectum. And according to the French-Canadian legend, he did not want to hold on to the title for too long, and relinquished the title out of respect for his fellow middleweight “colleagues” who were trying to win the title.

Of course, Georges St-Pierre did do as he preached and retired while he was ahead. In a tough and brutal sport like MMA, there is not much daylight between being dominant and not being able to win a fight to save your life, as Anderson Silva and Tony Ferguson’s examples tell us. So retiring while you are still officially the very best in the world is something very very special and rare. But then again Georges St-Pierre is a very very special and rare individual. What do you think about Georges St-Pierre’s revelations about his relationship with Dana White?