Tag: UFC 217

Last night, former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre vacated the 185-pound belt he had just won by submitting Michael Bisping just over a month ago at November 4’s UFC 217.

It wasn’t really a shocking move considering St-Pierre had revealed his intentions to no longer fight at the weight class as he recovers from a fight with ulcerative colitis that was reportedly due to the diet required for him to bulk up and take on Bisping in his first-ever – and possibly only – fight at 185 pounds.

St-Pierre looked great in his return from almost four years off after he vacated the 170-pound belt in late 2013 as he submitted Bisping in the third round after dropping him with a power left hook, but if you paid attention to his words even directly after he won his second title, a lengthy foray at middleweight against the best in the world was never really in the cards for the French-Canadian superstar.

So thus ended St-Pierre’s short-lived reign at middleweight, if you even want to call it that. With it over, St-Pierre’s tenures at 170 and 185 are an odd juxtaposition the likes of which we rarely see in even a sport as wild and unpredictable as mixed martial arts. At welterweight, he ruled the division twice, with his second reign spanning nine straight defenses where he dominated the best in the world but failed to score a finish throughout the second half of his career there. At middleweight, he came back with seemingly more power and drive after refreshing his mind and desire to compete and score an epic finish in a bout many picked him to lose, yet there was something still missing from the entire ordeal, something different.

And in a way, the thing that was missing was an overall indication of the current state of the UFC. The absence of true meritocracy in the UFC right now rang true more than ever when Bisping held out to face ‘Rush’ in a fight that was on-again, off-again since the beginning of 2017.

St-Pierre perhaps saw an opportunity to win a belt at a higher weight class because Bisping was an easy win for him after the two had trained together years ago and St-Pierre got the upper hand, and if he did, he proved that theory right at Madison Square Garden. The fact that he was even able to return to an immediate title shot in a weight class he had never fought in after almost four years off and a somewhat messy exit speaks volumes about how the company is willing to do any and everything to secure a potentially huge pay-per-view payday right now.

‘Rush’ took advantage of that, so fair play to him. He got a huge prize fight, and even though he insisted his contract stipulated he had to defend the title against interim champion Robert Whittaker, he waffled on that match from the second he strapped the middleweight title around his waist and discussed his victory with Joe Rogan.

That’s not to say St-Pierre was ducking the fight. The disease he’s dealing with is a serious condition, and if he was putting his body in danger just to bulk up and fight at middleweight, then he most certainly made the right decision in vacating the title and focusing on his health.

In another way, he also showed mercy to the crowded division in doing so, letting it move on and progress in an era when other champions like Conor McGregor hold up classes with no clear plans to defend in plain sight. Whittaker can now take on Luke Rockhold in the main event of UFC 221 from Australia and the division can go forward without the uncertainty and chaos Bisping lent it during his controversial 17-month reign. However, he also made it seem obvious that he saw an opportunity to cash in versus a man he knew he could beat, a man who was perhaps a fluke champion, and with no intentions of defending the title won in doing so.

So it’s somewhat insulting to the UFC, and Dana White is likely to be ‘super-pissed’ St-Pierre isn’t defending the middleweight strap. He also can’t be surprised.

An all-time great no matter if you agreeing with his latest move or not, St-Pierre saw a window open to win a huge but questionable fight in an era where those seem to be popping up regularly. It was a huge departure from when he shocked fans by announcing he would be taking some time off to recharge his burnt-out mind and body in the moments following his incredibly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013.

The UFC’s consummate professional promptly took almost four years off after that; there’s no telling how long he may take to return this time if he ever does. Despite the criticism he may be garnering in many circles today, he got paid and won a UFC title a weight class up. Most fighters will never come close to laying claim to anything resembling that sentence. Ultimately it was a savvy business move in a time when spectacle fights seem to have priority above all others.

But this entire scenario has taught us two things: St-Pierre is a master magician when it comes to the fight game, and he pulled his second great escape on the UFC again last night.

If they can corral him again remains to be seen.

The post Georges St-Pierre Pulled His Second Great Escape Last Night appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Georges St-Pierre recently revealed he would most likely not defend his newly-acquired middleweight title after the diet required to move up a weight class led to him contracting colitis following his impressive third-round submission of former champion Michael Bisping at November 4’s UFC 217.

While St-Pierre’s Octagon return is uncertain, Bisping’s was not, however, as “The Count” made an incredibly fast and controversial turnaround to face Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of November 25’s UFC Shanghai after original headliner Anderson Silva was forced out with his second failed drug test. The British star was promptly knocked out with a brutal strike in the first round, prompting legitimate questions as to whether or not Bisping should have been fighting so soon after “GSP” had choked him unconscious.

St-Pierre recently weighed in on the questionable decision by Bisping to TSN (via MMA Fighting), noting that it was far from the right choice medically but that he still understood why Bisping took such a big risk to get back in the win column right away:

“Medically, that was not the right thing to do. However, if he would have succeeded – you know, he took a big risk and me, I can accept that because he took a big risk – if he would have succeeded he would have been like a hero. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, he just lose the title and then he come back with no preparation, boom, wins a fight.’ I think he tried to do something that was very, very risky, but at the same time if he would have achieved it, it would have been a big reward for him. So I can respect that. For him, I can respect the idea that he had, the goal that he had doing it.”

Much of the criticism surrounding the decision to let Bisping fight obviously rests on the UFC, as it was a somewhat surprising decision to clear the longtime veteran just three weeks after he had absorbed so much damage from a reinvented St-Pierre. With athlete safety, especially in terms of head injuries, becoming a more and more discussed concern in mixed martial arts, St-Pierre said he believed it was a bad decision for the UFC to let Bisping fight:

“However, I believe for the UFC, that was not good to let an athlete fight after getting concussed in a fight for the world title and then getting choked out. I don’t think it was medically a good thing for the UFC. But for Michael, as a fighter, I understand his point of view. He wanted to turn around the table and he wanted to do something that was special and I can understand that because coming back after four years myself, it was a lot of risk, and I wanted to do something special and I succeeded, I’m happy I did it. Unfortunately for Michael, it failed. But I can respect that from a man.”

Many fighters – especially UFC champions like Bisping regarded as the toughest in all of MMA – would want nothing more than to prove they were still at the pinnacle of the sport by avenging a loss if presented with the chance, so in that regard, it’s the UFC’s job to protect them from themselves in a sense when their health is on the line.

But they had no reserves about clearing Bisping to fight a young, up-and-coming knockout artist only three weeks after he brutally dropped, pounded, and eventually choked out in order to save the main event of a Fight Pass-aired card that was on at 7 a.m. EST in the United States. Some of that blame has to be directed at Bisping’s team and those who advise him, but ultimately he was going to try to prove he could still hang with the best when the chance arose.

From that point of view, the UFC may have been better served off thinking about their longtime star’s health, especially as he was prepared to head off into an expected retirement after one final fight in London this March. Now, that’s looking like it’s way too soon to fight again after two stoppage losses, and it also seems like the UFC will ut their bottom line above any and everything else, even if the event isn’t that big.

What is your opinion of the UFC’s decision to let Bisping fight again so soon?

The post Georges St-Pierre Reacts To Bisping’s Controversial Turnaround Following UFC 217 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.