With Georges St-Pierre having finally agreed his return to the cage following a self-imposed hiatus of more than three years, many of us are wondering if the Canadian superstar will be as potent a fighter as he was when he initially departed the sport. But, as St-Pierre said in a recent interview for the UFC YouTube channel, if he comes back as the same fighter he was back in late 2013 he will be easily defeated.

Back towards the end of St-Pierre’s historic welterweight title run, St-Pierre says that he wasn’t putting in the types of performances he would associate with being a champion. “I felt like I fought because I had to,” St-Pierre said of his displays in the octagon. “Perhaps I should have took a break earlier.”

“If I come back as the old Georges St-Pierre [I’m] going to get my butt kicked.  I have to come back as a better George St-Pierre. I’m going to have to come back with more creativity, better reactions, better tools that I used to have.”

Michael Bisping, the UFC middleweight champion, is the other name on the bout agreement for St-Pierre’s return. As has been the case numerous times throughout the Brit’s career, numerous analysts are already writing off Bisping’s chances of being successful against one of the best fighters in the sport’s history. GSP, though, says that Bisping has displayed a repeated ability to overcome the obstacles in front of him.

“Michael Bisping has faced a lot of obstacles in his career and he always came back stronger. That’s what makes him so dangerous. He’s got a lot of tools but he’s got also the mindset.

“He’s the biggest challenge I’ve ever had in my career.”

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