Georges St-Pierre fans waiting in the balance for word of his return received a jolt on Monday afternoon.

The former welterweight king appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and announced he's been released from his UFC contract, which will bring to end months of speculation in regard to St-Pierre returning to the Octagon.

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Prior to St-Pierre's announcement the French-Canadian star had been in talks with the UFC, but neither party could come to agreeable terms. St-Pierre stepped away from the promotion following his split-decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 back in 2013, and had largely remained off the radar until recently.

St-Pierre also told Helwani his existing contract was from 2011, long before the current deal with Reebok was put into place, and talks of a new deal fell apart when the UFC was sold back in July.