The Canadian wrestler finished his career in 2018 with a pro MMA record of 26 wins (eight knockouts, six submissions, and 12 decisions) against two losses - both of which he avenged.
A three-time UFC welterweight champion, St. Pierre posted victories B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy, Carlos Condit, and Johny Hendricks during his 170-pound campaign, took four years off in 2013 and then returned in 2017 to submit Michael Bisping, winning the UFC middleweight title.
The 39-year-old is widely considered one of the all-time greats in his sport but didn't enjoy the time he spent in the Octagon.
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"Never a second," he said. "I did it because I loved to win, I loved the benefits of it, and I loved the freedom.
"Back then, I was young, there was the money, the girls, the fame, the access to things nobody had. It was the freedom, that's why I did it. I never did it because I loved to compete and fight. I hated it to the highest level.
"It's so stressful that it was unbearable for me. However, I loved the rewards. The greater the risk, the bigger the reward, and that's why I did it, and I was very good at it and I took advantage of it.
"Now, I miss the rewards, I miss the feeling of winning. But I don't miss the feeling of fighting, not even a second."
St. Pierre found the prospect of fighting so stressful that he often cried before bouts early in his career.
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"In my early fights, before the fight I would go to eat with my friend … and I was crying: 'This is my last one, I promise, I'm not made for this. I hate this stressful life.'
"And he was saying the same thing. Then after the fight, we'd look at each other when we won and were like, 'Yeahhhh, when is the next one? We love it.' How crazy is this? It's a very weird thing and I can't really explain it.
"I love it, but I hate it at the same time. It's a crazy lifestyle. The outcome could be so negative for your well-being, but the rewards of it are so great. It's a crazy gamble.
"It's like going all-in every time. I love training, I love the lifestyle, I love everything about it, but the night of the fight, it's very stressful and I don't miss that."
St. Pierre has been linked with another comeback - this time against Khabib Nurmagomedov
A match between the best from the past era at welterweight and the best of this era in lightweight, would pit St. Pierre, 39, against the current UFC champion at 155-pounds - Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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It would be one of the greatest super-fights the UFC could make.
Even Javier Mendez, Nurmagomedov's head trainer, said St. Pierre would be the perfect opponent to retire on, before the Russian called the curtain down on his career with a dramatic, abrupt, and emotional statement in October, after he slept Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
One of Nurmagomedov's closest friends Daniel Cormier, a UFC commentator and former two-weight UFC champion, agreed.
"That's the fight," Cormier said at a Fight Island media day last year. "Could you imagine the energy of a Khabib vs. Georges St. Pierre fight? With fans?
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"This would be the unbelievable athlete from the generation prior versus the unbelievable athlete, unstoppable … from this [era]."
St. Pierre, though, did not mention a comeback in his interview with the UFC, nor did he mention Nurmagomedov.
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