Injured UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will try his hand at poker later this year.

888, an online gaming company, recently announced that they have signed GSP to a 12-month sponsorship deal, which will see the French-Canadian compete in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event, as well as several other poker tournaments around the globe.

"I have wanted to play poker for a while now as it is a great game of skill," St-Pierre said. "It is not just your cards versus my cards; it is you versus your opponent. However, the most important aspect of my partnership with 888poker is that we are going to generate a great deal of money for my foundation that dedicates its efforts towards anti-bullying causes."

GSP will join the likes of Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell and Mike Swick as fighters who competed in the WSOP. Swick took 10th place in a $2,000 no-limit hold'em tournament at the WSOP in 2010.

The 2012 WSOP takes place July 1, 2012.

In other GSP news, the 170-pound champ is hoping to make his comeback after extensive knee surgery at UFC 154 on Nov. 17 in his hometown of Montreal. St-Pierre is slated to meet current interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit when he is ready to return.

"I must be patient," St. Pierre said Thursday. "It'll take me a few months to regain my form, my reflexes. But I'm crossing my fingers, it would be great to make my return in Montreal. The two fights I had at the Bell Centre are the best times of my career."

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