With former welterweight champion and longtime PPV draw Georges Saint Pierre returning next month at UFC 217, the idea of a possible matchup between GSP and lightweight champ Conor McGregor has inevitably popped up. UFC President Dana White seemed relatively enthusiastic when asked about the idea by Damon Martin of MMA Weekly this week: “GSP […]
With former welterweight champion and longtime PPV draw Georges Saint Pierre returning next month at UFC 217, the idea of a possible matchup between GSP and lightweight champ Conor McGregor has inevitably popped up.
“GSP would need to defend his title first at 185 [pounds] and Conor has some business to handle himself. It would be a year and a half down the road before we would even talk about that.
“Everybody’s intriguing for Conor McGregor. I mean, if you look at Conor McGregor at 145, 155 and 170 [pounds], everything is intriguing.”
White did acknowledge GSP’s upcoming middleweight title fight against champ Michael Bisping coming up on November 4, but was honest in his opinion that the matchup would most likely be a massive draw.
St. Pierre, however, didn’t say no to the idea but remains laser-like focused on Bisping as he prepares to be the first UFC fighter to hold the welterweight and middleweight belts.
“He’s an amazing fighter, it would be an amazing honor, but I don’t know. I don’t know what to say. If the fans want it and he wants it maybe it will happen but right now, I’m focused on Bisping,” GSP said earlier this month.
Meanwhile, McGregor has been MIA since his 10th round TKO loss in boxing to Floyd Mayweather in August. No word yet on when he will return and who he will return against.
Would you like to see a fight between GSP and McGregor? How would that fight play out?
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.
UFC 206 goes down in Toronto, Canada this coming December 10, and its causing quite a stir. Currently headlined by light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and his rematch with Anthony Johnson, the penultimate PPV of the year has been in the headlines for other reasons. Earlier this year reports of former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre finally
UFC 206 goes down in Toronto, Canada this coming December 10, and its causing quite a stir. Currently headlined by light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and his rematch with Anthony Johnson, the penultimate PPV of the year has been in the headlines for other reasons. Earlier this year reports of former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre finally returning spread like wildfire. Having teased a comeback for many years now, this time around it seemed like it was actually for real.
With the promotion headed to GSP’s home country for UFC 206, rumours of a rematch with rival and fellow returning star Nick Diaz cropped up. Middleweight champion Michael Bisping uttered St-Pierre’s name after his UFC 199 title win, and again following the rematch with Dan Henderson at UFC 204. St-Pierre seems to be locked in a legal dispute regarding his UFC contract, claiming he is a free agent although the promotion has since denied it. Yesterday ‘The Count’ revealed he’d signed the contract to fight GSP at UFC 206, and now UFC president Dana White has responded.
Dana White’s Response
Having already told fans that Georges St-Pierre ‘didn’t want to fight anymore,’ UFC president Dana White has responded to the rumours surrounding UFC 206. As reported by Brett Okamoto, White shoots down the reports of GSP vs. Bisping in December:
Text from @danawhite: There is no Bisping vs. GSP fight in Toronto. I know Mike wants it, but it's not happening.
The Reebok deal was apparently the biggest sticking point in relation to GSP’s comeback to the UFC. We’ve seen it happen before, but is the UFC really going down the route of a contract battle with one of their pioneering champions? Randy Couture warned St-Pierre about the longevity of a court fight with the UFC this week.
GSP Coming Back?
Right now, it looks like the answer is a resounding no. On the other hand, ‘UFC Tonight’ is on later, and we all know how the promotion likes to toy with us in the lead up to huge announcements.
Well this just got a little more interesting… After years of being a trash talking hooligan of the UFC’s middleweight division, Michael Bisping finally backed it all up at UFC 199. His stunning first round knockout over Luke Rockhold was followed up by a stream of fighters wanting a piece of ‘The Count,’ and not surprisingly
After years of being a trash talking hooligan of the UFC’s middleweight division, Michael Bisping finally backed it all up at UFC 199. His stunning first round knockout over Luke Rockhold was followed up by a stream of fighters wanting a piece of ‘The Count,’ and not surprisingly given the number of rivalries the brash Englishman has racked up during his storied UFC career. There was even talk of an immediate rematch with Rockhold, before Bisping himself shot them down in short order.
The talk of a rematch with Dan Henderson has also been rife, even though the rankings would play against that fight, ‘Hendo’s’ classic knockout over Bisping at UFC 100 and the fact he only has one fight left is making that match very possible and also extremely marketable. But then former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s name got throw in the mix.
In a recent interview, as quoted during a recent LowKick article, newly minted UFC 185-pound champion Michael Bisping said a fight with Georges St-Pierre would be an enticing idea.
“As you said, fighting Georges St-Pierre [would be] great, and of course for the title for who has the most wins in UFC history…I mean, that alone is a fantastic tagline and great promotion.
“I do want to defend the belt, and I want to make as much money as I can in the process. So, I would certainly be open to sending Georges St-Pierre back to a movie set because that would be a fight I would definitely win and if Georges St-Pierre is listening, any time you fancy it, just be a man and sign on the dotted line and your return will be short-lived.”
It looks like Georges St-Pierre’s camp has now responded, reaching out to Bisping in efforts of making this fight happen…
