Dana White: Former UFC champ officially ruled out of UFC 206 in Toronto

For anyone still holding out hope former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will be added to December’s UFC 206 lineup in Toronto, UFC President Dana White has some disappointing news.

Although White has said all along that he doesn’t believe St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) is truly committed to a return to the octagon, even despite “Rush” saying differently, he officially confirmed one of the top pound-for-pound athletes in MMA history absolutely won’t compete when the UFC makes its final stop in St-Pierre’s native Canada later this year.

“‘GSP’s’ not fighting in Toronto,” White told “Jay and Dan” on FS1 this week. “I don’t think he does (fight again). There’s a certain mentality you have to have to be a fighter, and Georges St-Pierre hasn’t had that mentality for a long time. And sometimes that’s not a bad thing. Listen, the guy went out on top. How many athletes really go out on top? Go out the way you want to go out? The guy made a lot of money and when you take – this isn’t a sport you take a three-year layoff from.”

The back-and-forth in the media between St-Pierre and White has gone on for several months. St-Pierre declared his intention to return to competition over the summer, seemingly ending a hiatus that began when he vacated the welterweight title following a win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013.

St-Pierre entered the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing pool in August, exactly four months prior to UFC 206, which takes place Dec. 10 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto and currently features a light heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson as the main event.

When Cormier vs. Johnson was first announced for UFC 206, the organization made it clear the bout order hadn’t been finalized and the main event spot was still open, presumably for St-Pierre. Since then, however, the order has been rearranged with “DC” vs. “Rumble” etched in as the headlining act.

Although St-Pierre has said directly that he’s physically and mentally primed to step in the octagon for his first fight in more than three years, White said that was never the reality of the situation. He said St-Pierre is all talk and no action when it comes to accepting a fight, and he doesn’t believe that’s going to change in time for UFC 206 or anytime after that, either.

“‘GSP’ said, ‘I’m gong to do a little mini-camp’ and this and that – he’s been saying that for three years,” White said. “A lot of talk. ‘GSP’ wasn’t loving fighting when he was fighting all the time. This is a sport you just have to – first of all it’s a young man’s game. You got to jump out of bed every day and want to kick people’s ass and want to be a world champion. ‘GSP’ hasn’t had that fire in a very long time.”

For more on UFC 206, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.