St. Pierre (left) And Hendricks With White During UFC 167 Official Weigh-in
Nov 15, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UFC 167 Welterweight challenger Georges St. Pierre (left) and welterweight champion Johny Hendricks pose for photographs with UFC president Dana White during the official weigh-in of UFC 167 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Reuters/Stephen R. Sylvanie-US

Georges St. Pierre warns UFC fighters to hire competent professionals to manage their careers. The former UFC welterweight champion, who is also among the richest MMA fighters today, made his share of mistakes earlier in his career, including trusting "fake friends" to manage his career.

After losing money and struggling to make something again, St. Pierre hired professionals to handle his business instead. "One thing I can advise the professional athlete in mixed martial arts, you have to take it in a way that, you need to see your career as a business," St. Pierre said in Chael Sonnen's "You're Welcome" podcast. "I'm not qualified, I'm not competent for business because I'm a martial artist. I am competent to fight."

The recently retired 33-year-old MMA fighter claimed that when it is time to negotiate or deal with taxes, he hires the best people for the job. He revealed he had a lot of problems and legal disputes with picking friends to do the job before. But he considers himself lucky because it happened early on his career.

The Canadian expressed his disappointment for athletes who have outstanding career but retire broke. He reiterated it is important to surround yourself, not by friends and shady management, but by people who are competent.

In the same podcast, St. Pierre also talked about his return to fighting after having knee surgery earlier this year. When St. Pierre started to go to the gym again, rumours about his return to the UFC started to flood. Unfortunately, although the UFC welterweight champion is, indeed, back to the gym, it doesn't mean he will return to the Octagon soon as well.

He revealed in the podcast that he always trains. It is something he started when he was 7 years old, and he never stopped since. It is a part of his life, and it does not mean anything—it certainly does not mean that he is going back to fighting again. He added it doesn't matter if he's retiring or not, he will be always training because he likes to feel in shape.

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