Georges St-Pierre Returns to UFC on New Contract After over 3-Year Absence

UFC fans have wondered if and when Georges St-Pierre would return to the sport since he left more than three years ago. They reportedly have their answer. 

According to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, UFC President Dana White revealed Friday that St-Pierre signed a deal to return to the promotion.

Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported Wednesday that it is expected to be a multifight deal, and while his return fight is uncertain, the third quarter of 2017 is the current target.

White expressed his excitement over St-Pierre's return, per Pugmire: "He's back. I'm excited. We worked at it for a long time and finally got it done."

He also revealed that there are many potential opponents for St-Pierre depending upon which weight class he chooses:

It could be the winner [of the March 4 welterweight title fight] between Tyron Woodley and Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, or it could be [middleweight champion] Michael Bisping. Georges has also talked about fighting at 155 pounds [lightweight]. He says he can make the weight.

But I have no idea when he's going to fight right now. We don't have anything booked and literally haven't talked to anybody about it.

The 35-year-old veteran boasts a 25-2 MMA record and last appeared in the Octagon during UFC 167 in November 2013, when he registered a controversial split-decision victory over Johny Hendricks.

This follows news in January that St-Pierre was considering a comeback. Mookie Alexander of BloodyElbow.com passed along a report from Quebec’s FM93 (that was in French) saying the former champion was expected to announce his return.

However, Helwani shared a response from St-Pierre following that update: “I can tell you with certainty that their sources are not reliable.”

St-Pierre’s manager, Rodolphe Beaulieu, also denied any potential imminent comeback in Helwani’s report.

St-Pierre defended his title against Hendricks but relinquished it and took a break from the sport a few weeks later. Since then, there have been rumors that he would return, and Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com shared a report in October from Montreal’s Reseau de sports (RDS) that was in French that included this quote from the fighter:

I'm starting to get the feeling, more and more, to come back. I watch the fights to see what's going on in my division, and I'm staying in shape. It's like a knife that I have to keep sharp just in case I ever decide to jump back in the mix. It's not for sure that it won't happen in 2015, but I'm not sure yet.

Anton Tabuena of BloodyElbow.com also passed along word in November that St-Pierre and trainer Freddie Roach had a six-week plan to get him into fighting shape to see if he wanted to return.

The Raimondi piece alluded to St-Pierre’s vocal stance against performance-enhancing drugs in the sport:

Many of my regrets in life have nothing to do with things I have done, but rather things I didn't do. And if I have one regret, it's that I didn't speak up sooner. In fact, I've been talking for a while, but they ignored it. At the end, I wanted to make the drug tests public. I should have insisted on that well before.

Since then, the UFC received help operating drug testing from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

With the drug testing in place and St-Pierre’s training program likely a success given this decision, the fighter is set to return to the sport he once dominated.

St-Pierre is one of the greatest competitors in UFC history. He defended his title nine straight times and was a popular figure among many fans. Now he has the opportunity to expand on his legacy with a return.