Georges St-Pierre had argubly one of the greatest comebacks in the octagon as he defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217 to become the Middleweight champion. Unfortunately, St-Pierre was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis last week and thus the champion decided to vacate the title.
St-Pierre believes he got sick as a result of his move up to middleweight.
"My fight at UFC 217 was one of the greatest nights of my life but I now need to take some time to focus on my health," St-Pierre said in a statement provided by the UFC. "Out of respect to the athletes and the sport, I don't want to hold up the division. I will be giving up my belt and once I'm healthy I look forward to working with the UFC to determine what's next in my career."
As a result of vacating the middleweight title, Robert Whittaker has been named the undisputed middleweight champion of the UFC. Whittaker will now defend the title against former champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 on February 10 in Perth, Western Australia.