Australian Robert Whittaker was installed as
the new champion after the latest of a number of title vacations
and the awarding of interim belts.
Ireland's two-division champion Conor McGregor was stripped of
the UFC featherweight strap last year and Tony Ferguson won the
interim title in the lightweight division where McGregor still
holds the belt.
"Out of respect to the athletes and the sport, I don't want to
hold up the division," St-Pierre said in a statement, citing a
health issue.
The UFC, widely recognized as the premier MMA organization,
announced that the 26-year-old Whittaker, Australia's first UFC
champion, will make his first defense of the title against
American Luke Rockhold in Perth next year.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
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