GSP and the UFC are going through a bad breakup, but light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier would love to see them work it out, especially in time for their big Toronto card.
Over the last few months, the UFC and GSP seemed to be building nicely toward an eventual return to competition and return to the promotion for the former welterweight superstar. Georges hasn’t fought since 2013, when he bested Johnny Hendricks in the final defense of his welterweight title. Since then he’s done a couple movies, a TV show about dinosaurs, and he’s kept himself in pretty good shape. When he started talking seriously about a comeback to the UFC, it seemed like it’d be a pretty simple task of finding a big fun fight and making a PPV spectacle of it.
Despite a seeming desire to compete on the upcoming UFC 206 card in Toronto, and the UFC’s interest in booking a fight between GSP and Robbie Lawler, the promotion and it’s former champion have had a lot of trouble hammering out a deal. Things seem to have taken a turn especially southward when GSP announced that he was now a free agent and that his UFC contract was “terminated.” The UFC is denying that statement, but it’s still bad news.
And not jsut for fans who may have been hoping to see a legend fighting back on home soil again, but it’s also bad news for the other fighters on the UFC 206 PPV card, hoping to see a sales boost from GSP’s drawing power. Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier made his feelings known on Breakfast Television Toronto, that he’s still hoping for a reconciliation:
“Georges was at UFC Tonight a couple weeks ago and he seemed pretty excited to fight,” Cormier said when asked about comments that GSP no longer had the desire to compete. “And I cannot imagine that he doesn’t want to, but you never know. You never know what’s a negotiation ploy, or what. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that they get this Georges St-Pierre thing worked out. He’s a fantastic champion, great mixed martial artist, and he has been a standard bearer in this sport for a really long time. So, I’ve still got my fingers crossed that it works out.
“He looked in shape; he looked small, he looked lean. He looked ready to go. But, you know, I mean December 10th is still eight weeks away. So Georges, you have plenty of time to get this thing worked out and get on this fight card. Let’s give Toronto a show. “
Cormier is set to rematch Anthony Johnson in second defense of his light heavyweight title reign. Without a potential GSP fight on the card, he looks poised to be the evening’s main event, one with very little star power underneath it.
UFC 206 takes place on December 10th in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more news and updates.