Georges St-Pierre’s coach says it’s a ‘definite possibility’ he never fights again

After Georges St-Pierre gave up the middleweight belt citing medical issues, there's been some people out there suggesting this recent diagnosis of colitis seems awful convenient. But based on his jiu-jitsu coach John Danaher's comments on the latest edition of The MMA Hour, there was nothing convenient about it at all, and it almost derailed his comeback at UFC 217 completely.

"There was something very obviously wrong," Danaher told Ariel Helwani. "Georges was having serious medical problems two weeks into the camp and they persisted throughout, they peaked, in a six week camp, between week 4 and week 2, out from the main event. Things got so bad that we lost two weeks with zero training."

When asked if the condition could put St-Pierre out of competition forever, Danaher wasn't very reassuring.

“That is a definite possibility,” he said. “I don’t want to say yes or no because it’s not my decision, really. These are deeply personal decisions that Georges has to make. More over, they have to be made not as spur of the moment decisions. These are life-changing decisions, so they will have to made on the basis of Georges’ reaction to the medications that he’s taking for ulcerative colitis."

"From what I understand, the standard medications for ulcerative colitis take a considerable amount time to take effect, anywhere from three to eight months before you’ll even notice any changes. We have to see how he reacts to his medication regiment and make a decision based on that."

"My personal opinion is there's literally nothing more he needs to do in the fight game. That would be my personal opinion, but that's what I said last time," Danaher said, before adding a tantalizing possibility. "He could, if it was possible, get to 155 and get a third belt. If he did that, that would be incredible. But can Georges make 155? I don't know. As far as I know he's never gone that low. He's not a particularly big welterweight. I know there are people fighting currently at 155 that are physically larger than Georges is."

But this colitis throws so much into question. Will Georges St-Pierre ever fight again? And if he does, is he willing to risk his health moving to another weight class?