UFC president Dana White took to Sportscenter on Wednesday to drop a bomb on the MMA world.
UFC legend Georges St-Pierre (25-2), in his first fight back with the UFC, will challenge middleweight champion Michael Bisping (30-7) for the title. No specific date or location has been announced.
White also announced that the two will be in Las Vegas on Friday to hold a press conference, one day before UFC 209.
This fight is not a huge surprise, as this fight was rumored for UFC 206 in Toronto in December. But this does mean that No. 1-ranked middleweight contender Yoel Romero (13-1) will be passed up for the title shot that he had seemingly locked up. However, the UFC has delivered for the fans by matching up two of the sport’s biggest stars in nothing short of a
However, the UFC has delivered for the fans by matching up two of the sport’s biggest stars in nothing short of a super-fight.
For Bisping, though, this gives him the marquee money/legacy fight that he has been so desperately craving since winning the belt at UFC 199 in June. In his last fight, Bisping defeated retiring legend Dan Henderson by decision at UFC 204 in Manchester.
St-Pierre will now look to become a two-division champion in the UFC, something that only three other men in the sport have achieved (BJ Penn, Randy Couture, Conor McGregor). This will also give the fans a great measuring stick to see if GSP is still among the sport’s elite, having been off for over three years.
So much is still unclear about this fight but this does open up possibilities for the UFC afterward.
If St-Pierre wins, that could set up a champion vs. champion fight against the winner of Tyron Woodley-Stephen Thompson 2 for the welterweight title. He could also move forward to fight a top challenger like Romero or even another returning star, such as Nick Diaz.
A Bisping win would further cement his status as an all-time great and give him wins over two of the greatest fighters ever in St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, whom Bisping defeated last February.
This is a very intriguing fight that the UFC has put together. And it is one that will sell, as well as get many people talking.
