Will GSP leave his title behind???

[tn94z]

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LAS VEGAS – UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (19-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) is slated to defend his title against British slugger Dan Hardy (23-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on March 27 at the as-yet-unannounced UFC 111 event in New Jersey.

And regardless of the result, St-Pierre today said it may be has last title fight for quite some time.

The Canadian recently revealed he's considering a run at the 2012 Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling, and today St-Pierre said that plan would include vacating the UFC's 170-pound title.

"Right now I don't think my wrestling is good enough to be at an Olympic level," St-Pierre said at today's media gathering. "The takedowns that I use for mixed martial arts and the takedowns that are used in Olympic wrestling are totally different. The setup is different. It's a different sport.

"I'm a good wrestler, but to [compete in the Olympics], I would have to focus on wrestling and dedicate myself 100 percent for a period of time. I would not take my retirement now, but if I decide to do it, I would have to dedicate myself 100 percent I would say for a year-and-a-half or so."

It's a potentially life- and career-altering decision, and St-Pierre admits there is much to consider on both sides of the argument.

"There is a lot of positive and negative about it," St-Pierre said. "The negative is my income. I won't have as much income as I would if I keep my career. It would diminish dramatically. That's the first thing. The second thing is I would have to give up my title, of course. I would have to stay away from mixed martial arts for at least a year-and-a-half because I need to qualify.

"People don't realize that to go to the Olympic Games, just going there, is pretty hard. It's not an easy thing. You need to qualify yourself for your country, and even if you qualify yourself for your country, it doesn't mean you're going 100 percent. You need to qualify yourself for the Olympic Games, itself. It's something really, really hard. That's the negative thing."

But St-Pierre doesn't believe the potential of walking away from his title is all bad.

"The positive thing about it is I'm not a poor guy right now," St-Pierre said. "I've got good money, and I'm the kind of person that everything I do in life, it's an experience. I like challenges, and I would not like the fact that when I get older, around 60 years old, I think about it and tell myself, 'Oh, I had the opportunity to do it. Maybe I could have done it. I don't know; I didn't try.' This would make me sad.

"I don't know if I can do it. It's a challenge. But, it's always behind my head. My life is always about experience. I like to do new experiences. I like challenges. But it's something that I need to sit down and think a little bit more before I make my decision."

While St-Pierre is widely considered among the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artists in the world, his spot in the world of freestyle wrestling is far less secure. There is certainly no guarantee that St-Pierre would even qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games if he tried, but the 28-year-old said the thought of, "What if?" is a far worse option than the potential for failure.

"Even if I try it and don't make it, at least when I get older, I'm going to think about it, and I'm going to tell myself, 'You know what? I gave everything I had, but I didn't make it,'" St-Pierre said. "My mind would be clear. But if I don't try it, when I'm going to be 60 years old and thinking about it, I'll be like, 'Maybe I could have done it, but I'll never know because I never tried it.'

"I don't like things like that. It already happened before in another situation where I could have done stuff, but I didn't take the opportunity, and now days I always wonder if I could have made it. I don't want to be caught in that situation."

St-Pierre said he currently rates his chances of pursuing his Olympic dreams at "50-50." The process would not be a simple one, and "Rush" would have a multi-tiered qualification process to pass before he could book his travel plans to London, site of the 2012 Olympic Games.

But despite the certain drawbacks to his MMA career, St-Pierre says he sees potential benefits for the sports of MMA and wrestling.

"It could be good and bad," St-Pierre said. "It could be bad because I leave the sport for a year-and-a-half. But it could be good in another way to make [MMA] even more mainstream. If I do well, and I get into the Olympic level, it could be very good. It could be very good for the sport of wrestling, as well."

St-Pierre wasn't quite ready to commit to a full-fledged Olympic qualification effort, but he hardly attempted to discount the possibility.

"I have a decision to make, but I don't know if I'm ready to do it," St-Pierre said. "I just need to think about it right now.

"I'm going to have to make my decision pretty soon."

Well, if he does it, I wish him the best of luck.

[JsJs24]

TweetI like the way he thinks. He is a worker that strives to be the best at everything he does. I am not too sure of how well he will do if he goes for the Olympic wrestling team but I'd say he would work his tail off trying.

Good luck to the man. He's always been one of my favorite in the sport.

[brody13]

TweetI would hate to see him leave MMA but love for him to do well in the olympics. I have always loved the olympics and think you should take that shot if you can.