LAS VEGAS – It's been close to two years since fans last saw Georges St-Pierre in the Octagon.
He relinquished his UFC welterweight title at UFC 167 after winning a split-decision against Johny Hendricks and then walked away from the sport during an emotional press conference.
Later, St-Pierre cited a lack of passion as one of the determining factors for his departure. Another factor: the perceived plague of performance-enhancing drug use in the sport.
As St-Pierre tells it, he had been in the UFC's ear for years about cleaning up the sport he loved, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
"I said it for many years, I just didn't come out," St-Pierre said to Yahoo Sports when asked if he pressed the issue of PED abuse when he was an active champion. "Ask anybody who knew me in the UFC, I said it for many years."
And what sort of response did he get when he voiced his concerns?
"'Oh, you think so? Really? You sure about that?,' " St. Pierre said. "I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm sure about that.' I was very angry [and] nothing happened – a very long time, a very, very long time. Now I have my place among the UFC and I'm wealthy.
"A few years ago I didn't make as much money and it was easy for people to say, 'Oh yeah? You talk bad about us? Out. You're out. You're fired.' There are a lot of guys in the same situation; they think the same thing as me, but they don't have the power I have. I don't need this anymore; I'm happy, I'm wealthy. Maybe I would like to [fight], but I don't need it.
"But some of the guys – when you're a professional athlete, it's not a jet-set life, it's very hard – they don't make a lot of money and they need to keep their mouth shut. If you open up and say what you think – you see what happened with the Reebok thing – if you say something, if you talk bad about a certain thing, you're kicked out. And some of these guys, they need the income. And I understand that. I'm no different from nobody. But I'm in a position that I can say what I think."
As the adage goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Now, nearly two years removed from his somewhat surprising retirement, St-Pierre is finally being more vocal about the sport he loves.
Within the last year, the UFC has made incredible leaps and bounds in an attempt to clean up the sport. They have teamed with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and have formed a company-wide, self-imposed year-round drug-testing program.
States like Nevada and California have followed suit and implemented their own punishments. And they are unforgiving.
Under Nevada's new laws, a first-time steroid user will face a three-year suspension and a fine of 50-70 percent of their purse. A second failure will result in four years and a fine of 75-100 percent, and a third will result in a lifetime ban and a 100 percent fine.
St-Pierre, for his part, is excited about the changes. It probably won't be enough to bring the 34-year-old future hall of famer out of retirement, but it's undoubtedly a step in the right direction.
"It's very easy to speak, we'll see what happens," he said. "I believe that if they really do what they should do, there will be a lot of change in this sport. You'll see some of the stars falling. You'll know what I mean – if it's done right, you'll see.
"This is the way it needed to be a long time ago. But we can't change the past now, it's done. [The UFC] led the way for the other organizations now. It's perfect."

To his credit, "Rush" is remaining vigilant about the use of steroids in combat sports. After all, St-Pierre suffered an incredible amount of damage during his numerous 25-minute battles with the best fighters on planet earth. And as he has stated in year's past, he is positive that at least a few of those opponents weren't clean.
It's an unfortunate reality of any sport in 2015 and you can see the passion that St-Pierre has for the future of the sport he helped build.
Because as St-Pierre said himself, "We can't change the past now, it's done." And he's right. Now, it becomes about educating a future generation on the dangers of professional fighting; and, in the process, changing the culture and system that has allowed for this problem to go unattended for so many years.
"I don't judge people why they do it," he said. "Some guys have a family to feed. It's not about the individual. If you accuse one individual, it's not going to change anything because another one [will come along]; you need to change the system.
"And that's why I'm very happy now, the UFC changed the system and we'll see what happens in the next few months. But if it really does happen like they say it's going to happen – they put these guys in public – thumbs up.
“This is a problem and I’m talking for a lot of people. Trust me.”
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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!