Dana White confirms Georges St-Pierre has signed a deal to return to UFC

UFC president Dana White has confirmed former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has signed a new deal to return to the promotion.

St-Pierre, the man widely considered to be the greatest 170-pound fighter ever, has not fought since defeating Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November, 2013.

But after protracted negotiations, St-Pierre (25-2) and the UFC came to terms on Thursday. The agreement signals the return of one of the biggest pay-per-view draws in UFC history.

"He's back. I'm excited," White told the LA Times. "We worked at it for a long time and finally got it done."

St-Pierre, who is now 35, vacated his welterweight title after that gruelling win over Hendricks, citing his dissatisfaction with the UFC's drug testing policies at the time.

Those have since been significantly upgraded, with the UFC partnering with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to administer "unannounced, year-round in and out-of-competition testing" to each of its athletes.

St-Pierre's return has been the subject of speculation for months and it was mooted for UFC 206 in Toronto on December 10 but the two sides were unable to agree upon a deal.

One of the major stumbling blocks was understood to be St-Pierre's contract with Under Armour, a rival of Reebok, who have signed a sponsorship deal with the UFC since the Canadian star last competed.

St-Pierre also became involved with the Mixed Martial Arts Athlete Association, a fighters union aiming to "fight for the rights of MMA fighters and force UFC's ownership, [WME-IMG], to dramatically alter the company's decade plus outrageous treatment of its athletes."

However, those issues have now been worked out and St-Pierre will immediately be thrust into the title pictures at three different weights, according to White.

When asked about potential opponents for St-Pierre, White said: "It could be the winner [of the March 4 welterweight title fight] between Tyron Woodley and Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, or it could be [middleweight champion] Michael Bisping.

"Georges has also talked about fighting at 155 pounds [lightweight]. He says he can make the weight.

"But I have no idea when he's going to fight right now. We don't have anything booked and literally haven't talked to anybody about it."

St-Pierre's return could not come at a better time for the UFC, who received more positive news this week when Cris "Cyborg" Justino was cleared of a doping infraction.

The company's biggest star, Conor McGregor, is currently taking time out while his girlfriend has a baby and has been vocal in his desire to renegotiate his UFC contract before he steps back into the octagon.

The Irishman has also been flirting with a foray into boxing to take on Floyd Mayweather Jr and has suggested he might pursue that fight whether the UFC get on board or not.

The UFC's other marquee pay-per-view star, Ronda Rousey, was decimated by Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December and White says she has told him she is "ready to move on" from fighting.