Georges St. Pierre said the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC's) take on drug testing has significantly influenced his decision to step away from the octagon ring. He thinks that the UFC could be stricter when it comes to drug testing.

St. Pierre announced his plans of stepping away from UFC Dec. 13, 2013. He vacated his title and noted he had to take some time off to attend to his personal dilemmas.

In an interview Tuesday published by Cbc.ca, St. Pierre revealed one of the reasons he decided to leave the sport for a while is to show his opposition about UFC's approach on drug testing.

"It bothered me greatly," St. Pierre said. "It was one of the reasons I decided to step aside," he added.

The Canadian mixed martial artist made it clear that he was not accusing anyone of steroid use. He stressed he just wanted to ensure that there is integrity in the sport. He wanted to prove to everyone that he is clean and never competes with performance-enhancing drugs.

During the UFC 167 main event fight between St. Pierre and Johny Hendricks, a little controversy has sparked after St. Pierre requested to conduct additional drug testing. St. Pierre and his camp agreed to further enhance the drug testing using the laboratories that are accredited by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). However, Hendricks' camp called off and withdrawn when St. Pierre suggested that they conduct drug testing through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA). St. Pierre complete the VADA test on his own and even shared that results for everyone to see on his official Facebook page.

"When I first started fighting in mixed martial arts, it didn't have any money," St. Pierre said in an interview. "So, now more money got involved, more ways are there to be cheating to take a shortcut," he added. "I believe VADA and I'm up for it," he continued. "I invite my opponent to do the VADA testing for the championship fight," he noted.

St. Pierre, in his recent interview, said he made his attempt to bring the sport to another level. "They were not ready to do that," he added.

St. Pierre's career in UFC is not over. He may be taking a break now but he made it clear that there is a great chance for him to make a comeback. Unfortunately, he isn't thinking of returning to UFC at the moment. It seems like he is enjoying his time off from the octagon ring just being to be around with his family and loved ones.

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