I am 100% behind GSP and his exit/vacation/staycation/retirement/semi-retirement/walking away from the sport. It makes sense. You win 12 fights in a row, you fight the best in the world for so long, with the country of Canada on your back, and all of that pressure is bound to add up. Never mind the fact that GSP is already an OCD case who must do everything perfect and you have a textbook case of overtraining and even overthinking.
I don’t blame GSP one bit for walking away.
The post-GSP UFC (and MMA) situation is even more fascinating when you are able to delve deeper into the rabbit hole with GSP’s head coach, Firas Zihabi discussing his departure in-depth with MMAJunkie:
“I don’t think he’ll ever stop martial arts,” said Tristar head coach Zahabi. “If he came and told me he was never doing martial arts again, I wouldn’t believe him. I think martial arts has carved a part of his personality; he’s done it from so young. It saved him from bullying; it got him the life he has right now.
“He will always be doing martial arts. Now, he’s doing it for love and passion, and doing it for competition is two different things.”
“I’ve been a part of thousands of training camps. Georges St-Pierre camps are the most extreme. I think he went too far, too long, and mentally, it’s not feasible. You go home, you get ready for the next workout, and then it’s back to the gym the next day. There’s no balance in your life, and it’s going to weigh on you mentally. It’s a never-ending life of discipline and rushing. There’s no time to enjoy life in his lifestyle.
“You do it competitively, you’re going to do it to the point where you hate it. You’re going to do it to the point to where you’ve had enough, and there’s still more work to be done, and you have to do it. When you do it for life and for fun and you’ve had enough, you can go home.”
“I think what Georges did was right. He lives a life of extremes, but you can only do it for a period of time. Nobody’s ever taken it to that extreme. It’s a question of will; you can’t force that on somebody. Georges did it for too long, and he needs a mental break.
“The younger generation can learn from Georges. Do what Georges did if that’s the result you want. Just know, you can’t do that forever.”
