Georges St-Pierre reveals scary reason he retired from MMA (VIDEO)

UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre has explained why he decided to retire from MMA after earning a second UFC title. St-Pierre opened up during a recent podcast appearance on his retirement, and what led to his decision to hang up the gloves.

“The reason why I really retired is because it took a lot out of me, and I started developing a condition called ulcerative colitis,” St-Pierre said in a recent edition of the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “It’s an inflammation of the intestine and my last fight when I fought Bisping, I tried to eat, to gain weight, and I have a very hard time gaining weight. I forced myself to eat and maybe the doctor told me that’s probably why I developed that.”

After the ulcerative colitis diagnosis, St-Pierre feared his condition was life-threatening, even worrying about it leading to cancer. But, he said intermittent fasting cured all of his symptoms and he's no longer on medication.

St-Pierre went on to explain that he likely developed ulcerative colitis ahead of his UFC 217 middleweight clash with Michael Bisping. He defeated Bisping by submission in Nov. 2017.

Georges St-Pierre says health issue led to MMA retirement

St-Pierre was then expected to face then-interim UFC middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker in a unification bout. He then vacated the belt and retired just 34 days after defeating Bisping. St-Pierre flirted with a UFC comeback in 2018 after Khabib Nurmagomedov called him out at UFC 223. He declined Nurmagomedov's callout but didn't rule out a possible return to the welterweight division.

In Feb. 2019, St-Pierre squashed any speculation of a comeback when he reaffirmed his retirement at a press event in Montreal. He entered the UFC Hall of Fame's Modern-Era Wing in 2020.

St-Pierre is considered by many as one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time. He defended the UFC welterweight title a promotional record nine times, featuring wins over the likes of Johny Hendricks, Nick Diaz, and BJ Penn. St-Pierre's middleweight title win against Bisping added him to an exclusive group of two-division champions in UFC history. After a TKO loss to Matt Serra at UFC 69, he went on to win his final 13 fights before calling it a career.

St-Pierre was scheduled to return to combat sports in a submission grappling match against Diaz at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 in December. But, the fight was called off due to injury. As of this writing, it's uncertain if St-Pierre intends to re-book another grappling match for his combat sports return. He's recently doubled down on his MMA retirement and promises never to return to the cage after his 40th birthday.

St-Pierre walked away from the UFC and MMA at the top of the sport, and he intends to make his latest MMA retirement permanent. He's prioritizing his health and accomplishing other goals outside of fighting.