Georges St-Pierre responds to UFC 217 ticket slump: ‘I don’t care’

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre, walked away from mixed martial arts (MMA) at the peak of his popularity, and perhaps thought that fans would be champing at the bit to see his Octagon return.

Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t.

Word ‘round the campfire is that tickets for the upcoming UFC 217 pay-per-view (PPV) event, where St-Pierre will move up to middleweight to challenge Michael Bisping for the 185-pound strap, are not selling as well as anticipated.

Not that “Rush” seems bothered.

“I do not focus on that, I don’t even care,” St-Pierre told MMA Junkie. “I don’t care. I would rather make zero dollars and win my fight than make $10 million and lose my fight. This is my word, and I swear it’s true. It’s always been like that, even when I was poor. I want to win, and I don’t care about (money or recognition).”

A “pissed” Bisping cares about money.

St-Pierre was the longtime king of PPV buys until he (temporarily) packed his bags and went home, paving the way for future stars like Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor, who helped make the promotion profitable enough to command these kinds of dollars.

So far, the return hasn’t been anything to write home about.