Robert Whittaker Reacts To Georges St-Pierre Being Sidelined

Disappointing news hit the UFC early today when UFC President Dana White confirmed that newly-crowned middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was going to be sidelined ‘for a minute’ due to colitis. The all-time great former welterweight boss made a triumphant return to the Octagon after nearly four years in semi-retirement at last month’s (Nov. 4, 2017) […]

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Disappointing news hit the UFC early today when UFC President Dana White confirmed that newly-crowned middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was going to be sidelined ‘for a minute’ due to colitis.

The all-time great former welterweight boss made a triumphant return to the Octagon after nearly four years in semi-retirement at last month’s (Nov. 4, 2017) UFC 217 from Madison Square Garden, dropping and submitting former champ Michael Bisping to become the unlikely champion in his first bout at 185 pounds.

The win set him up for a title unification bout with surging 26-year-old interim champion Robert Whittaker, who had locked up the placeholder belt by defeating Yoel Romero at UFC 213 this summer. However, St-Pierre revealed he had suffered a concussion during his fight with ‘The Count,’ and will now deal with a serious digestive system disease.

Not surprisingly, many fans took it as a sign that St-Pierre was trying to get out of defending the 185-pound title, something many felt he wouldn’t do even before winning it. But true to his always-classy style, Whittaker reacted to the news by encouraging St-Pierre to heal up on his Instagram account:

@georgesstpierre @danawhite @ufc #unify #anywhere

A post shared by Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) on

Known as one of the nicest and classiest fighters outside the cage while quickly becoming one of the steamrolling forces of nature inside it, Whittaker doesn’t appear to be in a rush to get his rumored title bout with St-Pierre.

Part of that may be the fact that he significantly injured his knee while fighting Romero and could still be healing up, but the uncertainty surrounding St-Pierre’s return to middleweight could lead to what most thought would happen actually happening – that St-Pierre never defends his title like he promised he would prior to his UFC return.

If he doesn’t, the UFC may be better off making Whittaker the interim champion due to the constant state of flux at 185 recently after Bisping shocked the world by knocking out former champ Luke Rockhold in June 2016, only to defend it against the retiring Dan Henderson then sit on the sidelines for more than a year waiting for St-Pierre to return.

It could be argued no UFC division save for possibly lightweight is a bigger mess right now, and with 185 being one of the most talented arenas in all of MMA, the UFC will need to sort out the mess heading into 2018 if they want the dismal pay-per-view numbers of 2017 to bounce back in any fashion.

Despite Whittaker’s calm reaction, should the UFC truly let ‘Rush’ hold up a division he may have never intended to defend the title in?

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GSP Confirms UFC 217 Injury Could Be Concussion

Newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre insists he doesn’t want to “freeze” the 185-pound division after submitting Michael Bisping at UFC 217, yet he still won’t fully commit to a unification bout with interim champion Robert Whittaker for his next fight. Like his comeback almost four years in the making was before, St-Pierre’s fighting future is uncertain, […]

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Newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre insists he doesn’t want to “freeze” the 185-pound division after submitting Michael Bisping at UFC 217, yet he still won’t fully commit to a unification bout with interim champion Robert Whittaker for his next fight.

Like his comeback almost four years in the making was before, St-Pierre’s fighting future is uncertain, partly because of a UFC 217 injury he revealed to reporters on a media conference call in New York yesterday.

The UFC legend elaborated on the ailment in a special episode of The MMA Hour (quotes via MMA Mania) after the media call, describing the nature of the injury and how painful it was, noting he could hardly posture up to throw ground strikes at times:

“It’s why after the fight I couldn’t even tie up my shoes. My neck couldn’t even move, I had an incredible swelling in one of the muscles on the back of the neck, and during the fight when I was on the ground it was very hard for me to posture up to strike. Even know you look at me, my head goes good this way, but this way I’m restricted a little. It’s a lot better than it was, but it was very painful.”

St-Pierre believes it could be a concussion, definitely a serious matter in an age when fighter safety is coming to the forefront of concerns about the sport:

“When he hit me I saw blurry for a bit. I don’t know if I had a concussion or something. It may have been a concussion. I keep fighting because when it happens, obviously survival instincts kick in. But when you watch the fight, that particular thing, it looked pretty insignificant. But it wasn’t insignificant when I received the shot. It hurt me really bad.

“It’s not the force of the blow, it’s the precision of it. It’s not Michael’s fault, you’re in the heat of the moment, you fight, I probably would have done the same thing, nothing wrong with that.”

Harrowing words from the longtime former welterweight ruler, who previously said he had lost periods of time during his highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks in November 2013, a fight after which St-Pierre vacated his long-held belt and went into semi-retirement until now.

He said he’s going to take a vacation to clear his mind before deciding on his next fight, yet even though he’s the middleweight champion, a new head injury, especially at his age, may not be the best start to the final leg of his all-time great career.

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Georges St-Pierre Reveals Significant Injury Suffered At UFC 217

One of the hottest topics in the UFC is newly-crowned middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s next fight following his title-sealing submission win over Michael Bisping in the main event of last weekend’s (Sat., Nov. 4, 2017) UFC 217 from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Dana White insists he’s going to unify the 185-pound […]

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One of the hottest topics in the UFC is newly-crowned middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s next fight following his title-sealing submission win over Michael Bisping in the main event of last weekend’s (Sat., Nov. 4, 2017) UFC 217 from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Dana White insists he’s going to unify the 185-pound belts with interim champion Robert Whittaker next, while the specter of a massive super fight with Conor McGregor looms large. But speaking during a media call in New York (via MMA Junkie) today, St-Pierre revealed that whatever his next move may be, he’s going to require some time to heal from a neck injury he suffered while battling Bisping.

Despite the injury, however, he said he plans to defend his new title:

“There’s going to be news about it in the next few weeks, but I don’t plan to hold the title and not defend it.

“It looked very insignificant when it happened,” St-Pierre said. “It wasn’t the strength of the hit. It was more the precision of it. It’s not his fault. We’re not allowed to hit there, but it was just in the heat of the fight, and it’s normal.

“My neck was so inflamed, when I was on the floor, I had a hard time posturing up because it was hurting very bad. It felt like I couldn’t contract my head to posture up. After the fight when I cooled down, it was terrible. It was like my neck couldn’t move. Now it’s still sore, but it got a lot better. I got treatment on it, so I’ll be back 100 percent.”

Noah K. Murray for USA TODAY Sports

So while it sounds like a serious injury, St-Pierre insists he’ll be back to full strength soon. His next bout still remains a mystery, but he said fighting Whittaker is in his contract, so his agent will soon meet with White and the UFC after he goes on vacation to clear his head:

(UFC President) Dana White is going to talk with my agent, they’re going to figure it out, and we’ll see after I come back from vacation.

“We’ll see what I want to do and where my head is,” he said. “I have no intention of holding onto the belt and freezing the division. That’s not what I want to do. Robert Whittaker is in my contract. If I want to fight again, it has to be against Robert Whittaker at 185 (pounds). That’s in my contract. I cannot, for example, go fight (welterweight champ) Tyron Woodley or go fight another guy.”

St-Pierre remained coy when asked if UFC 217 may have been his last fight, noting that it was the same question framed differently and that he hadn’t even made his own mind up yet:

“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s the same question from a different angle. That’s why I can’t talk about this – I don’t know right now.

“I understand it’s normal, but I don’t even know for myself what’s going to be the next move.”

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Dana White Hints Conor McGregor Could Still Fight This Year

It seems as though there’s a slight possibility that the UFC could use Conor McGregor before year’s end. McGregor hasn’t competed inside the Octagon since November of last year when he headlined UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden opposite Eddie Alvarez. “The Notorious One” downed “The Underground King” in the second round of the bout […]

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It seems as though there’s a slight possibility that the UFC could use Conor McGregor before year’s end.

McGregor hasn’t competed inside the Octagon since November of last year when he headlined UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden opposite Eddie Alvarez. “The Notorious One” downed “The Underground King” in the second round of the bout via knockout to capture the lightweight throne, becoming the first dual-weight champion in UFC history in the process.

Shortly after McGregor was forced to vacate his featherweight title and decided to take some time off from competition in order to enjoy the birth of his first child. That break was short-lived, however, as McGregor then signed on to make his professional boxing debut against Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

The Irishman would come up just short as he suffered a 10th round TKO loss after eating a barrage of unanswered shots. Now the MMA world awaits his return; which will likely come against interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, who defeated Kevin Lee in the main event of UFC 216 to capture the gold.

Recently UFC President Dana White spoke to the Los Angeles Times‘ Lance Pugmire and revealed that McGregor’s next fight could be finalized by the end of the week.  White has until the end of the week to determine the main event for the UFC’s pay-per-view (PPV) event on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas and is hoping McGregor can compete on the card (quotes via Bleacher Report):

“That’s all this week,” White said. “We’re working on that [main event]. I have to have it done by the end of the week.”

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GSP Favored Over Conor McGregor In Early Betting Odds

Following Georges St-Pierre’s riveting third-round submission to win the middleweight title from Michael Bisping in the main event of last Saturday’s (November 4, 2017) UFC 217, several high-profile fights sit on the bargaining table for the UFC’s newest two-weight champ. The obvious one is a unification bout with current interim middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, who […]

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Following Georges St-Pierre’s riveting third-round submission to win the middleweight title from Michael Bisping in the main event of last Saturday’s (November 4, 2017) UFC 217, several high-profile fights sit on the bargaining table for the UFC’s newest two-weight champ.

The obvious one is a unification bout with current interim middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, who is currently recovering from a knee injury suffered while winning the interim belt versus Yoel Romero at July’s UFC 213. It’s a fight that UFC President Dana White insists will be next for GSP, yet there’s another high-profile bout that would out-draw this fight in spades.

That’s St-Pierre’s oft-discussed super fight with lightweight champ Conor McGregor, a bout that’s gained a ton of steam since St-Pierre officially won the middleweight title amidst speculation about his effectiveness after four years off. Both fighters would potentially hold up their respective divisions to make it happen – although that’s nothing new with McGregor – but it would also almost certainly be the biggest fight the UFC could stage at this point, and perhaps ever.

If and when either fight happens, St-Pierre is already favored over McGregor and an underdog to Whittaker according to early odds recently released on Bovada.com. According to their numbers, St-Pierre is a -150 favorite over McGregor, who came in at +120, and a -135 underdog to Whittaker, who is currently a -165 favorite.

This marks a change from the initial release of the odds yesterday, when St-Pierre was a -160 favorite over +130 dog Whittaker. Many hardcore fans believe the much younger Whittaker would defeat St-Pierre after trouncing Romero and Ronaldo Souza in 2017, and apparently the betting public agreed enough to skew the odds in Whittaker’s favor – and by no small margin – in just one day’s time.

Who do you believe should be favored in St-Pierre’s prospective bouts in the foreseeable future?

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Is GSP vs. McGregor Really The Fight To Make Next?

All of the sudden, Georges St-Pierre has a lot of leverage with the UFC. In a surprising outcome to many, the longtime welterweight champion returned to the Octagon after almost four years off and submitted Michael Bisping in the main event of last Saturday night’s (Nov. 4, 2017) UFC 217 from Madison Square Garden in New […]

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All of the sudden, Georges St-Pierre has a lot of leverage with the UFC.

In a surprising outcome to many, the longtime welterweight champion returned to the Octagon after almost four years off and submitted Michael Bisping in the main event of last Saturday night’s (Nov. 4, 2017) UFC 217 from Madison Square Garden in New York City, and now the fight game is his proverbial oyster.

Now that he’s the middleweight champ, the fans who said it was a travesty for Bisping to be fighting a former welterweight who had never fought at 185 after four years off will almost definitely be calling for him to defend his new belt, and indeed UFC President Dana White insists that unifying the belts with interim champion Robert Whittaker will be next for “Rush.”

It’s a fight that makes the most sense in terms of pure meritocracy, something that the UFC was founded on and also an aspect of mixed martial arts (MMA) we don’t see a whole lot of in this trash-talking, star-driven era of today. To illustrate that point, a point of view that’s surfaced from many experienced media members in the fight game is that St-Pierre should take on lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who also has an interim champion waiting to take him on in his own division, in what would almost assuredly be the biggest MMA fight of all-time.

That potential over-the-top booking, which would conceivably take place at 170 pounds where both men have fought in the UFC, comes at a time when the promotion needs a truly huge fight (Mayweather vs. McGregor doesn’t count as their own), and it’s no secret UFC owners Endeavor could use a smashing pay-per-view hit after a yearlong slump in 2017. St-Pierre vs. McGregor is a huge fight – it would feature two champions who are the two biggest names in the sport at the time.

The fact that the larger St-Pierre would be heavily favored due to his dominant wrestling and grappling doesn’t really matter because we’ve seen the decision-making process for booking fights in today’s UFC has more to do with dollar signs that actual sport. Without a true star like either McGregor or St-Pierre in 2017, they’ve struggled to build any momentum, so it would be kind of silly to not book the star power-driven bout now that they actually have one.

The financial ramifications of the bout would be obvious – it would make more money than any other mixed martial arts bout in the sport’s 24-year history. But it could really only happen if both fighters abandoned their current titles because leaving two of the UFC’s best divisions held up even longer after a full year of inactivity already would leave the legitimacy of the UFC in serious question, something many fans already believe has happened this year. Maybe St-Pierre could cut all the way down to lightweight to challenge McGregor for a third UFC title, but that would take quite some time and the entire promotion can’t wait for his next move.

They already do that with McGregor. Two fighters holding up basically everything from 155 to 185 pounds would just be too much.

If both keep their titles and book the fight at 170 or a catchweight, then the actual value of UFC championships will have to be put in serious question. They’d be more like flashy pieces of pseudo-importance the promotion attaches to pay-per-views rather than true gold to be defended.

Overall the discussion is a difficult one. St-Pierre vs. Whittaker and McGregor vs. Ferguson just don’t have that same zing that a St-Pierre vs. McGregor super fight does. Few, if ever, really do. There are just some issues with it being booked right away. It may be a bit of a copout, but I’m not saying it is or is not the right fight to book at this time. If young fighters like Whittaker and Ferguson want to fight for the titles in their prime, perhaps it’s best for St-Pierre and McGregor to abandon the official belts and sign on for the biggest sort of the big fights they seem to be looking for at this points in their respective careers.

The backlash directed towards McGregor and to a lesser extent, St-Pierre would probably be drowned out by the sheer volume of checks being cashed. If that’s enough for McGregor to potentially put his legacy in question, well, this is prizefighting at the highest level, after all.

Do you think the UFC should strike while the iron is hot with potentially their biggest fight of all-time?

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