UFC
UFC NEWS: Georges St. Pierre, manager Shari Spencer part ways
Jan 20, 2011 - 11:10:35 AM UFC NEWS: Georges St. Pierre, manager Shari Spencer part ways

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre has become one of the biggest names and most visible MMA stars in the sport over the last several years, in large part due to manager Shari Spencer. Spencer was key in St. Pierre landing sponsorship deals with Gatorade, Under Armor and more, thrusting St. Pierre into the spotlight further off of his in-cage domination.

But on Thursday, the two sides announced an "amicable" split in their working relationship. In a press release, the reason given for the split was that "They felt they had a different vision for the future of Georges' career and it was best to remain close personally but dissolve their business relationship."

The two spoke highly of each other in the release, and made it clear there's no animosity involved in this separation.

Said St. Pierre, "Shari has been very valuable to me and my career over the last several years. We broke through a lot of barriers together and so I will always be grateful to her and call her my friend."

Said Spencer, "I am extremely proud of the representation I provided to Georges and the incredible opportunity to have partnered with an athlete of his caliber. I am thankful for the trust that he displayed in me in managing his career since mid 2007 and I wish him the best going forward."

For now, St. Pierre will remain with the Creative Arts Agency, and is expected to hire a new manager shortly.

Penick's Analysis: St. Pierre feels he has gone as far as he can with Spencer as his manager. As he said, he remains grateful to her contributions in his career to this point, and they remain friends, but he's likely now looking to move to a higher level. As with all things in this matter, it was likely also driven by money, and St. Pierre likely felt that necessitated a new person in charge of that end of his career; we'll probably see some new and even bigger things from the best fighter on the planet as the next few years unfold.

[Georges St. Pierre art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]