So much revisionist history.
Georges "retired" in 2013, and Anderson was anything but "on a tear" at that point. He'd already gotten KTFOd by Weidman. In the 12 months previous to his retirement, Georges faced Condit, Nick Diaz and Hendricks. In my opinion, Diaz was a cherry pick, as he was coming off a controversial loss to Condit, but it was still a game fight. In the 12 months previous to Georges retiring, Anderson faced Stephan Bonnar and got beaten every minute of every round by Chris Weidman.
Anderson was already in the twilight of his career by then, actively ducking Weidman throughout 2012, stating he couldn't possibly fight Chris because he was injured, but then taking a gimme against Bonnar as soon as Weidman needed surgery.
Don't believe that? Here's the words straight from your "GOAT"s mouth: When asked abot Weidman, Anderson stated
https://bleacherreport.com/articles...-dont-have-any-intention-of-fighting-with-him
That is the VERY DEFINITION of ducking, Anderson true believers.
For the record, I believe Georges lost to a juicing Hendricks, and I also believe--without any empirical evidence--that Georges was using PEDs before he left. I believe Anderson was also using throughout his career, but there is a bit more tangible support for that.
But the fact remains that chasing a fight with a guy who is a weightclass smaller than you is a punkass move, even when a bonafide legend does it. It tarnishes their legacy. It was punkass when Anderson did it, it's punkass when TJ did it, and it'll be punkass when Georges fights McGregor.
But don't twist history and reading comprehension is your friend.