Georges St-Pierre still has plenty of love for the promotion that propelled his rise to superstardom.

Life after fighting has treated Canada’s St-Pierre well since he retired while holding the UFC middleweight title in 2017. A former two-division UFC champion and Hall of Famer, St-Pierre still physically looks as good as ever, and has teased potential returns in either boxing and grappling over the past eight years. At one point, a boxing clash against fellow legend Oscar De La Hoya appeared to be a real possibility, however St-Pierre was still under UFC contract and the promotion prevented him from competing.

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Despite that stumbling block, as well as his somewhat tumultuous past relationship with UFC CEO Dana White, St-Pierre holds no ill will and is arguably in a better place than ever with his old employer.

“I’m on good terms with Dana,” St-Pierre said Monday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I saw him in Saudi Arabia [recently], and we’re good friends. We talk about stuff that we could not talk [about] before. Like stuff that I was thinking during negotiations, and what he was thinking was going on. It’s funny. We have a funny relationship, and I love Dana. He’s a good guy, and he gave me a device that helps with sleep — he sent it in my house, something that costs a lot of money. It sends your body frequency and it helps you sleep, and it’s amazing. I have a great relationship with Dana and I like him.”

St-Pierre, 43, ruled the roost at 170 pounds for essentially his entire career. Since his exit from the sport, there have been a handful of successors to the welterweight throne. Belal Muhammad currently sits atop the division as he gears up for his first title defense opposite Jack Della Maddalena on May 10 at UFC 315, which goes down in St-Pierre’s home city of Montreal. It’s a tall mountain to climb, but Muhammad’s ascent to reach St-Pierre’s divisional record of nine consecutive title defenses begins now.

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Muhammad, 36, has been on an impressive stretch of his own, having gone unbeaten over his past 11 fights. Thanks to his success, Muhammad has been a confident champion who’s made plenty of bold claims, such as recently stating that he’s almost assumed the mantle as the greatest welterweight of all time. But that’s what St-Pierre believes fans get confused: Confidence getting mistaken for arrogance.

“I wish him the best of luck, and maybe he will be the GOAT,” St-Pierre said of Muhammad’s claims. “I told you earlier about ego — I try to disassociate myself with my ego. A guy who does not do that will still be like, ‘No! Because I got more title defenses than him!’ But man, I wish him the best of luck. And you know what? Records are made to be broken.

“He’s very skilled. He’s got all the tools that he needs to become the GOAT. Not only in my division, the GOAT in the entire UFC roster, and I wish him the best of luck. If he does, congrats to him and I wish him the best in his journey. But right now, he has a lot to do. It’s not done yet. He needs to prove it. To win for himself, and in terms of legacy — for his stats. But it’s good that he’s hungry and he has a lot of pride and ego, because you need that in that game. It’s a very egotistic industry, and you need to be that way.

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“If he would not be that way, people sometimes don’t understand — [they think] it’s some kind of arrogance. I don’t see it as a kind of arrogance or an insult. I see it as a competitive spirit. Someone who’s very competitive and very proud, and has very high hope and faith in himself.”

These days, St-Pierre is happy to just be a fan of MMA rather than an active participant. Aside from his old divisions, he’s wildly intrigued by the same fight that’s captured the imaginations of virtually everyone in the sport: The hypothetical heavyweight champion vs. champion clash between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, which remains stuck in a seemingly perpetual cycle of negotiations.

Aspinall, the UFC’s interim champion, has been left to remain patient as he sticks to his guns of only fighting in a unification bout his next time out or being made the undisputed champion in Jones’ absence. Overall, it’s a murky situation — one not helped by Jones’ apparent reluctance to make a decision. Still, if St-Pierre can offer any advice to Aspinall, it’s to follow his old mentality.

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“I think Tommy needs to focus on the next task,” St-Pierre said. “I remember when I lost to Matt Serra — I was making the mistake of trying to focus on Matt Serra to get my rematch immediately, but I had a few other fights lined up before to get that. And [Aspinall is] only focusing on Jon Jones — but if Jon Jones does not come back right away, he’s not focusing on the right thing. He needs to focus on what is next, the next path. Because the rest, it’s a distraction. Things that need to be done will be done. I don’t know what Jon will do, but as a fan, I would love to see this fight.

“In terms of legacy and accomplishment, Jon Jones is the best. I understand Tom, from his point of view, that he’s a proud fighter, he wants to beat the best — but now it all depends on what Jon wants to do. Does Jon still want to do this? If he’s compensated fairly, all that plays [a factor]. So Tom should not focus on that because it’s outside of his control, and he’s wasting a lot of energy focusing on that. And I know it’s very hard, but he sort of needs to self-hypnotize himself to focus on the next thing, and be hungry about the next task. By doing this, he’s going to build up his legacy, and perhaps, one day, he’s going to be the greatest. He’s got all the tools as well to be.”