Michael Bisping lost his middleweight belt to Georges St-Pierre, who promptly vacated it shortly after winning it, and he’s not too happy about how it all went down. Bisping recently revealed his thoughts on GSP vacating his newly-won title on his official podcast: “In one respect, it’s good for me because if somebody beats you, […]
Michael Bisping lost his middleweight belt to Georges St-Pierre, who promptly vacated it shortly after winning it, and he’s not too happy about how it all went down.
Bisping recently revealed his thoughts on GSP vacating his newly-won title on his official podcast:
“In one respect, it’s good for me because if somebody beats you, you never want them to lose again because if they get beat, then the person that beat them, it has a negative impact on you. Like, ‘Oh, they could have beaten me as well.’ I’m the only person at 185 he ever beat, nobody at 185 is ever gonna beat him.
“So cheers Georges, thanks for that. But at the same time, it looks like a bit of a bitch move, you know what I mean? I don’t know anything about Georges’ bank account but I’m assuming it’s pretty swollen, it’s got plenty of money in there. So he came back, he got another belt, made history, made a ton of money, made more than me, the prick, and good for him. It’s actually really smart. Why should he carry on fighting?”
GSP would have faced interim middleweight champ Robert Whittaker if he had stayed the middleweight champion. The former welterweight and middleweight champ’s camp says he’s looking for super fights from here on out.
Do you agree with Bisping?
Should GSP have remained middleweight champion to give Whittaker a chance to unify the titles, or is the division better off now that it can move on without the drama and hold-ups of his on-again, off-again UFC return?
French Canadian mixed martial artists Patrick Cote and Georges St-Pierre have known each other for a long time, having fought in the same regional promotion before both signing with the UFC last decade. So it’s fair to say that Cote knows GSP better than any other fighter on the roster, and Cote believes the former […]
French Canadian mixed martial artists Patrick Cote and Georges St-Pierre have known each other for a long time, having fought in the same regional promotion before both signing with the UFC last decade.
So it’s fair to say that Cote knows GSP better than any other fighter on the roster, and Cote believes the former welterweight and current middleweight champion won’t be fighting for much longer, even with the strap around his waist.
Cote expressed his doubts during a recent interview on The MMA Hour:
“I have big doubts. I don’t have any inside info and we are not close as we used to be, but what he said about that hard thing to gain weight.”
“I don’t want to take anything away from Bisping, I like this guy, he’s a worker, amazing fighter and he had a great opportunity to be champion, but Georges against Whittaker, big guys like Romero, I don’t know. Georges is super athlete but he doesn’t have anything to prove against those big guys. I don’t think he’ll fight at 185 anymore.”
Saint Pierre had dominated the welterweight division before retiring after UFC 167. He returned four years later to take on middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who he defeated by submission at UFC 217.
Now ruling over the 185-pound division, Cote says GSP has many options outside of fighting. Cote himself retired after a loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 210.
“For sure, I would not be surprised if he said, ‘It’s over, I just wanted to feel that feeling again.’ Why I say that is because is took him so much time to get out of the cage. He stayed in the cage and he was kind of feeling everything he was able to grab about all the emotion.”
“He was in the cage for almost 20 minutes after the fight, He was looking at everything and grabbing all the energy just to say ‘That was that, I did it and I am not going to miss that anymore.’ This is the feeling I had when I was at MSG. But no, I will not be surprised if he is done with fighting.”
Do you think GSP will be fighting for much longer?
Former welterweight champion and now newly minted middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre did the unthinkable when he defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217. Now sporting two belts and a 26-2 record in MMA, many fans have concluded that GSP is the greatest of all-time in terms of mixed martial arts, a claim GSP himself rejects entirely. […]
Former welterweight champion and now newly minted middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre did the unthinkable when he defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217.
Now sporting two belts and a 26-2 record in MMA, many fans have concluded that GSP is the greatest of all-time in terms of mixed martial arts, a claim GSP himself rejects entirely.
St-Pierre revealed his thoughts on his GOAT status at a recent conference call interview (via MMA Junkie):
“There’s no such thing as the greatest of all time. It doesn’t exist. It’s an illusion.”
“Even though you’re the best, it doesn’t mean you’re not going lose,” St-Pierre said. “And it doesn’t mean nobody’s going to beat you. For example, I fought Michael Bisping Saturday night, at Madison Square Garden. In that particular night, at that particular moment, at that particular place, I beat Michael Bisping. But that doesn’t mean if I fight him tomorrow that he’s not going to beat me.”
True to his humble nature, GSP deflected the GOAT claim and offered up his own interpretation.
But while Saint Pierre may scoff at the idea, many fans and pundits alike have him among the all-time greats. The most dominant champion and most dominant welterweight in MMA and UFC history takes four years off only to come back and win the middleweight title? He’s simply peerless when it comes to GOAT discussion.
How do you rank GSP among the greatest of all-time?
The UFC middleweight division has been tied up as of late due to champion Michael Bisping. Although he did defend his belt once against then No. 14-ranked middleweight Dan Henderson (in Hendo’s retirement fight), but hasn’t fought since their October 2016 rematch. And while speculation ran rampant over his proposed championship bout against former welterweight […]
The UFC middleweight division has been tied up as of late due to champion Michael Bisping.
Although he did defend his belt once against then No. 14-ranked middleweight Dan Henderson (in Hendo’s retirement fight), but hasn’t fought since their October 2016 rematch.
And while speculation ran rampant over his proposed championship bout against former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, that fight hasn’t even been scheduled due to injuries.
The rest of the 185 pound division is losing their patience waiting for the champ to defend his belt, but UFC president Dana White assured fighters and fans alike that Bisping is not turning down or refusing fights.
“I’m going to tell you this: There are guys who turn down fights every day here – some I’m very public about, some I’m not, ” White said. “Bisping does not turn down fights. Bisping does not turn down fights. He does not. So I have a lot of respect for Mike. I like guys (like him).
“You’re in the fight business. You should be willing to fight anybody, anywhere, any time – especially if you’re the champion or one of the top (expletive) five guys in the world. You shouldn’t be turning down fights with anybody. Bisping does not.”
Photo by Joe Camporeale for USA TODAY Sports
Bisping’s extended inactivity has forced the UFC to create an interim middleweight belt, which will be settled between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero at UFC 213 in Las Vegas this weekend.
White seems to be shying away from the GSP fight that the UFC had initially proposed. The former welterweight champion says he’s admanant about returning to the octagon after retiring back in 2013, but news recently broke that he would fight the winner of UFC 214s Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia title fight. So fight fans should probably forget about that matchup for now, as White insisted that Bisping will fight the interim champ once he is healthy enough to return.
“(Bisping) is in line for the winner,” White said. “Bisping’s never turned down a fight, this guy. Me and Bisping go back a long way from his season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and I’ve done a lot of things for Michael Bisping, and Michael Bisping’s done a lot of things for me.”
“I’m in this situation right now where Bisping’s hurt,” White said. “This should be Bisping vs. Romero right now. Whittaker just destroyed ‘Jacare’ and Romero has been beating everybody along the way, waiting for this title shot.
“Bisping’s not ready yet. And if there was ever an interim title fight, how is this one not worthy? This fight’s going to be ridiculous.”
It’s true that White has alienated many with his confusing statements of late where it seems whatever he says will happen never does and what he says will not happens soon, and that hasn’t helped his reputation during a year where he’s publicly feuded with flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in the midst of the one of the slowest starts to a year in terms of pay-per-view (PPV) sales in UFC history.
But White has one thing correct here, and that’s the insistence that Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker promises to be a great fight. And whomever wins this weekend, White insists Bisping will fight the winner.
