GSP Reveals His Team Told Him Not To Fight Michael Bisping

Newly-crowned middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre may have successfully defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217, but before he did, his team was skeptical about how the fight could have played out. In fact, GSP’s team told him outright that it was a bad idea to fight Bisping, the two-time UFC champ revealed to MMA Junkie following […]

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Newly-crowned middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre may have successfully defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217, but before he did, his team was skeptical about how the fight could have played out.

In fact, GSP’s team told him outright that it was a bad idea to fight Bisping, the two-time UFC champ revealed to MMA Junkie following UFC 217:

“What I’ve done, it’s never going to be taken away from me. It’s something I will keep for the rest of my life. Maybe one day I will go through some negative thing in my life. I will be able to think back about that moment, and it will make me smile. That’s what it is what people don’t understand. I do this to live a moment. I lived a moment.

“I feel very privileged to live that moment. It was a big risk, but bigger the risk, bigger the reward. Even though a lot of people in my entourage told me it was a bad idea, I always trusted my myself and I always believed I was able to do it, and I did it and I’m very proud.”

While the risk may have paid off against Bisping, St-Pierre was realistic in his assessment of the fight game. GSP came out of a four-year retirement to challenge for the middleweight title after a grueling fight against Johny Hendricks back at UFC 167, a fight he won by controversial split decision and also a fight where he left battered and bruised.

With recent revelations regarding brain trauma and concussions, St-Pierre remains deliberately vague when discussing his plans for the future:

“The goal in this game is to retire on top, to not leave too late like a lot of guys like Muhammad Ali,” St-Pierre said. “They made the mistake of believing they were on top, but when you start to get a little bit greedy thinking that you’re special – we’re all human beings, and nobody is invisible. There’s no such thing as being the strongest man. When I was young, I wanted to do MMA because I wanted to be the strongest man. There’s no such thing. I realize now. Everybody can beat everybody on any given day.”

GSP is expected to defend his middleweight belt against interim champ Robert Whittaker sometime in the near future, however, even that is far from certain to happen.

Should St-Pierre continue fighting now that he’s middleweight champion? Or would a brutal loss to a top middleweight like Whittaker, Brunson, or Romero tarnish his historic legacy?

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BJ Penn vs. Georges St-Pierre 3? ‘The Prodigy’ Wants GSP In New York

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen either BJ Penn or Georges St-Pierre actively fighting. For ‘Rush’ it was the tail end of a six-year win streak that sent him to retirement in 2013, having won 12 straight fights since 2007, but squeaking past Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. Citing personal issues and the

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It’s been a long time since we’ve seen either BJ Penn or Georges St-Pierre actively fighting. For ‘Rush’ it was the tail end of a six-year win streak that sent him to retirement in 2013, having won 12 straight fights since 2007, but squeaking past Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. Citing personal issues and the somewhat loose drug testing regime in mixed martial arts at the time, the former promotional poster boy relinquished his undisputed title, much to the dismay of his fans and UFC president Dana White.

‘Th Prodigy’ left the sport on a very different kind of streak, having been 5-1-1 in his last five years of competition, only competing three times between October 2011 and July 2014, and losing all those fights in rather ugly fashion. Fighting Nick Diaz and Rory MacDonald at welterweight was brave, albeit somewhat ill fated, and taking on Frankie Edgar at featherweight in his last fight was not a great decision.

BJ Penn

That was 2014, and Penn lost by harrowing TKO in the trilogy match with Edgar, sending him out of the sport with a rather unsatisfactory summary to such a storied fighting career. Criminal accusations and a failed USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) test for IV use have hindered returns at UFC 197 and 199 for the former welterweight and lightweight champ, but now he’s aiming for a November return against an old foe in Georges St-Pierre:

This was in response to ‘GSP’ recently telling The MMA Hour that he could ‘easily’ make lightweight if required.

georges st. pierre ufc stats

During his best years Penn lost to ‘Rush’ by both decision at UFC 58 and TKO at UFC 94. The former welterweight champion and consensus greatest 170-pounder of all time ‘GSP’ has already been linked to a middleweight return against Michael Bisping, so is ‘The Prodigy’ asking for a lightweight battle a little too far down the weight categories?

Penn, in terms of fighters going down as their age goes up, is quite a rare sight. Most prefer to go up as their physique naturally swells over time, and what are the chances that St-Pierre will actually fancy the trip down below his formerly owned weight class? That said, UFC 205 will be the first event held in New York, and at the Madison Square Gardens no less. For obvious reasons this will be a historic night, potentially filled with red panties should the stars align in the correct manner.

Would this be a fight worth watching? Possibly, but I get the feeling that regardless of weight, St-Pierre would continue Penn’s run of bad luck.

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GSP Supposedly Confirms UFC Return – But There’s A Catch

Former long-time UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre constantly makes headlines regarding a potential return to action after vacating his coveted 170-pound strap back in 2013. Every time it appears as if a possible comeback may be a reality, however, St-Pierre shuts it down, or leaves us with yet another question mark. That may have just

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Former long-time UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre constantly makes headlines regarding a potential return to action after vacating his coveted 170-pound strap back in 2013.

Every time it appears as if a possible comeback may be a reality, however, St-Pierre shuts it down, or leaves us with yet another question mark.

That may have just changed, as we have received the most definitive news regarding “Rush’s” anticipated return to action.

According to Benoit Beaudoin of a French sports outlet, the Canadian superstar has begun negotiations with the UFC, although one road block remains (translated from French):

“Georges St-Pierre confirms negotiations with the UFC for his return. The sponsors are a stumbling point.”

Since GSP’s departure from the Octagon, the UFC has signed a highly lucrative deal with Reebok; a deal that has enlisted the sports apparel giant as the sole sponsor of the UFC. Fighters are now unable to represent outside sponsors at promotional events, nor are they able to do so inside the cage on fight night.

While this deal was intended to turn mixed martial arts into a more ‘professional’ sport, it has ultimately took quite a nice chuck of change away from some competitors.

With that being said, St-Pierre, who is a veteran of 21 UFC bouts, would receive a $20,000 sponsorship payment from Reebok, likely a significant amount less than he was making back in his glory days.

As of now, no word has come from the promotion regarding this news, although St-Pierre fighting once again would undoubtedly be monumental.

The all-time great hasn’t competed since a highly controversial split-decision victory over Johny Hendricks back at UFC 167, but he remains at just 34 years of age.

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Georges St-Pierre Describes His Worst Moment In The UFC

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is still considered among the greatest fighters of all time, and his influence on 170-pound history is simply undeniable. He was one of the most dominant fighters in a heavily talented welterweight division, rising to the top by beating fellow legend Matt Hughes in their second fight in 2006.

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Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is still considered among the greatest fighters of all time, and his influence on 170-pound history is simply undeniable. He was one of the most dominant fighters in a heavily talented welterweight division, rising to the top by beating fellow legend Matt Hughes in their second fight in 2006. It seems a lifetime ago that GSP won that belt at UFC 65: Bad Intentions, and it’s crazy how much things have changed in the ten years since. The sport has rolled on without the physical presence of ‘Rush’ for nearly three years now.

After defeating Johny Hendricks in a highly debated UFC 167 split decision, a clearly disheartened St-Pierre gave up the belt and walked out of the limelight. That moment created months of chaos, and ever since the fight game has collectively wondered if/when GSP will return. With the historic UFC 200 just around the corner, the rumours of a return for ‘Rush’ have been rampant.

georges st. pierre ufc stats

It would seem fitting for GSP to comeback at the second milestone event for the promotion, as he fought Thiago Alves at the UFC 100 blockbuster card, which remains the biggest pay-per-view card for the promotion to date. One fight that is often referenced to when discussing St-Pierre is the first fight with Matt Serra, which was also the French Canadian’s first title defense. After decimating Hughes the fight before, many believed GSP would steam roll over Serra, who was coming off a victorious stint on the Ultimate Fighter 4 to get the title shot.

What happened is still widely considered as the biggest MMA upset ever, as Serra caught St-Pierre with some hard punches, flattening him to steal the belt in a wild frenzy.

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Johny Hendricks Advises GSP To Stay Retired: Next Time Will Be Worse

Former UFC welterweight champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks may be squaring off with No. 8-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the main event of tomorrow’s (February 6, 2016) UFC Fight Night 82, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about his 2013 clash with Georges St-Pierre. Fighting for St-Pierre’s then long-held 170-pound title at UFC 167, the

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Former UFC welterweight champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks may be squaring off with No. 8-ranked Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the main event of tomorrow’s (February 6, 2016) UFC Fight Night 82, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about his 2013 clash with Georges St-Pierre.

Fighting for St-Pierre’s then long-held 170-pound title at UFC 167, the two went back and forth for five hard rounds with Hendricks seemingly getting the better of the Canadian star. In fact, much of the MMA community felt as if “Bigg Rigg” had done enough to win which is why most were stunned when “Rush” was handed a split-decision victory.

St-Pierre would vacate his title soon after, going into a semi-retirement that has remained intact to this very day. The rumors and questions have run rampant ever since, however, and 2016 could be the year that GSP makes his return to action.

While I’m sure Hendricks wouldn’t turn down a rematch with his former foe, “Bigg Rigg” actually recently advised St-Pierre to stay away from fighting, claiming that his next fight would just be worse:

“Enjoy that you were the best fighter for what? 4-5 years? Enjoy that. Don’t come back just because you had a close decision that you thought you won, but it wasn’t close. The next is going to be worse and that’s the thing, I’d really like him … to move on. Whenever it’s my turn and I know it’s time for me to go, I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘I’m going to train to comeback.’ I know whenever I’m beaten and I’m no longer at the top, it’s time to hang them up.” Hendricks told MMAJunkie.

While some feel that “Rush” will make his much anticipated return to action at some point, it is also very possible that we’ve seen the end of one of the sport’s most iconic and prolific champions.

Do you agree with “Bigg Rigg”, or should the 34 year old St-Pierre see if he has one last run left in him?

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