Georges St-Pierre's need for a normal life apparently was the only reason he vacated his UFC welterweight championship after a split-decision victory over Jonny Hendricks in UFC 167 in December.
USA TODAY Sports is reporting that Hendricks revealed his also stepped away because he thinks the UFC's attitude on drug-testing is far too lenient.
"It's one of the reasons why I stopped," St-Pierre told the French-language website RDS.ca, according to USA TODAY Sports. "Not really to [teach] them a lesson, because it penalizes me, too. But I wanted to do something for the sport that I love. I see the direction in which it goes, and I think it makes no sense. This is stupid."
Drug-testing was an issue before St-Pierre and Hendricks stepped into the octagon last month. Hendricks wanted Hendricks to agree to be tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association and offered to pay for Hendricks' testing himself, according to MMAFighting.com.
Hendricks initially agreed, then backed off. St-Pierre completed the random-testing program then lamented the UFC's lack of support for his efforts to get Hendricks to comply.
According to USA TODAY Sports, both fighters passed the post-fight drug tests.
Yahoo! Sports reported that St-Pierre stepped away because, "I've been fighting for a very long time, at a very high level. It's a lot of pressure. I know that UFC is a business. They have to keep things rolling, so I vacate my title. I need to have a normal life for a little bit. If I come back some day, I will be even better."
St-Pierre had a very different message on Tuesday, according to MMAFighting.com:
"The only thing I want to say is I wanted to do something to help those who are honest in the sport. Believe me or not, I never took drugs in my life. I'll take a lie detector test, I don't care. I'm for anti-doping tests. I think it's a big problem in the sport.
"This is a relatively new sport. There's one organization that has a monopoly, so the fighters don't have much power. They can't really talk because if one says what he thinks, he will get punished.
"If we want the sport to be accepted worldwide, like baseball, hockey, football, soccer, I believe [drug testing] is the thing to do. I think it's just a matter of time before it happens; it's just that I tried to make it happen now. Maybe they didn't like the idea because if I did it now, it would lead to others doing it and maybe that's not something they wanted to happen.
"It disappointed me. You know that there are things I can't say. I'm holding back. I'm a public person."
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