George St-Pierre Would Have Joined MMAAA Even If He’d Returned at UFC 206

Georges St-Pierre spoke with MMAJunkie about his involvement with the MMA Athletes Association and more. Some highlights are below:

On if he would have joined the group if he’d come back at UFC 206: “Yes, I would (have moved forward with the association). It’s important for me. It’s been a long time and I think it’s not a question of if it would happen, it’s a question of when. I’m not paid to do this. I do it because, to tell you the truth, I wish when I first started my career that someone, a bigger name, would have done it. But at the time, the infrastructure was not in place, and it was not possible to do that.”

On the importance of the MMAAA: “We talk about something that will change people’s lives. Some guy that one day starts fighting, they start their career, and when they finish they’re not even the same person. Some will suffer of dementia – look in football what is going on. Now we’re talking about fighting. Fighting, you cannot play fighting. Every time you step out there, you can go back home not the same person. You can go back home with irreparable damage – damage that will stay with you for the rest of your life.”

On other existing organizations like the Professional Fighters Association and Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association: “I think together we can put all our ideas together and be stronger united, instead of being separated. Because in the bottom we all want the same thing. We want better conditions, we want a better fair share of salary and it’s the same thing – we want the same thing.”

On Bjorn Rebney’s involvement: “A lot of people are scared, because they’ve been intimidated and they are afraid. And some of them, they ask me about Bjorn. I tell them that Bjorn is our technical strategy, he’s our technical adviser. Because I think it’s important to mention – Bjorn is important for us because he’s been on the other side. He was a promoter before. So he knows the game very well, his knowledge is very, very important for us. And that’s what he brings.”

On how he thinks the UFC will react: “The way I read this, in public they’ll make it seem like, ‘Yeah, we welcome that thing to happen because we want what fighters really want and try to help them.’ But I think that underneath, they will call some guys and make them understand and try to intimidate. This has been done before. And some guys, what I can say is: As you’re a fighter in the octagon, be a fighter in life. Don’t be afraid to stand up for something that is right, for the virtue, because this is something very important, and it’s a game-changer. If we do it all united, if we unite and we do it all together, it will be a game-changer for everybody.”