Since welterweight champion Georges St.Pierre announced on Saturday night that he would be hanging up his gloves for a while everyone’s been wondering what the personal issues are that brought him to that decision, and gossip site TMZ believes they have the answer.
Citing sources close to the situation they claim that it’s actually two issues that have lead the star to the point where he says he can’t sleep at night and is “going crazy.”
Firstly, TMZ says that St.Pierre’s father, who first introduced the long-time champion to martial arts, is dying and he’s been struggling to cope with this tragic news.
At the same time, it’s also being reported that St.Pierre has got a girl pregnant and while he doesn’t want to go ahead with it, apparently she does.
With that being said, let’s keep in mind that TMZ aren’t exactly known as the most reliable source of factual information, so for now the news has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
It’s certainly news that will raise a few eyebrows if proven to be true though given that, despite his status as the biggest star in the UFC, GSP has done a remarkably good job of keeping his private life out of the spotlight over the years and has enjoyed a ‘clean-cut’ image.
After speaking to GSP following Saturday’s post-fight press conference, Dana White had suggested that the fighter’s issues could be worked through and that he expected him to return to rematch Johny Hendricks after their closely fought fight at UFC 167.
The issues mentioned above would tie in with that. That’s not to trivialize the seriousness of them, but while they would clearly cause GSP a lot of stress, it’s unlikely that either would result in him retiring permanently.
Earlier today St.Pierre had posted a message on Twitter which suggested he was already coming to terms with whatever it is that’s troubling him.
“Good morning from Vegas – Feeling much better now!” he wrote.
He might feel differently once word of the TMZ story reaches him, however.
