MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre still has a shot at a title if he decides to return and fight again, UFC president Dana White said. But his coach welcomes the possibility that he might just retire.

The former welterweight champion is rumored to return next year and end his longtime absence from the industry. White said in a Yahoo Sports report that it would be "tough to deny" St-Pierre a title in the UFC once he decides to make a comeback.

The former five-year UFC champ took a break to recover from a torn ACL which he sustained in a training session. He, however, has been cleared to fight again in October last year.

"It would be tough to deny that GSP comes right back and doesn't fight for the title, you know what I mean? GSP can do whatever he wants. If he wants to come back and fight for the title, or if he wants a fight before that - he can do whatever he wants," White was quoted by Yahoo Sports as saying.

Rumors of St-Pierre's return also surfaced when his coach, Firas Zahabi, noted that the fighter still has "the desire" to come back inside the ring and fight equally skilled MMA fighters.

"My personal opinion is he still has plenty of competitive juice in him. I don't think he'll be anywhere near fight shape until he's late-34 -- mid-34. I think he's got a few fights in him but I don't want to speak for the guy. He might retire and no one could blame him," he earlier told ESPN.

White also added that it is always "a huge debate" for champions like St-Pierre "to go out on top and walk away with the belt."

"That's a personal decision that a fighter has to make. Being the competitor that GSP is, I can't see GSP doing it. But that's up to him," White added.

In an earlier interview with SB Nation, St-Pierre said he "will never return to the UFC without independent drug testing." He noted that he wanted to clean up the sport as well as the industry from the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).

"A true martial artist must respect his opponent and fight clean," St-Pierre said of PED use in the UFC.

Meanwhile, aspiring fighters can learn a thing or two from St-Pierre's views about fear.

"A few weeks ago, someone asked me about overcoming fear and taking control in the octagon. I told him that you never overcome fear and you're never in control. Control is an illusion-a fight can turn so quickly that you're never really in control," he told SB Nation.

St-Pierre said fear keeps him "more alert and more focused."

"It's good to have fear," he added.