Written by Tyson Rybak.
The announced return of UFC legend Georges St-Pierre took fans by surprise last week. The former long-time welterweight champion was announced to be fighting current Middleweight champion Michael Bisping in a fight that is expected to take place later in the year. Despite the excitement attached to return of a man who many consider to be the greatest pound for pound fighter ever, the announcement was met with much criticism by both fans and middleweight contenders. The question remains, do St-Pierre’s credentials and star power warrant a shot over many active contenders in such a talent-rich division?
St-Pierre, who is approaching 36 years old, held the UFC welterweight title twice in his previous tenure. His nine consecutive title defences are a feat that remains untouched by anyone else in the history of the welterweight division. After making his temporary exit from the sport following a controversial win over Johny Hendricks, many wonder how “Rush” can return to his athletic prime given his age and time away. Couple this with the fact that you have a wave of contenders, including the surging Yoel Romero, Jacare Souza and Gegard Mousasi, among others, and you’re left with an odd feeling for the match-up.
As shown by the UFC time and time again, money talks. With GSP’s star status in the sport and his passionate Canadian following, the fight with the brash Brit no doubt makes sense financially. As shown in Fridays press conference, the disparity of personalities between Bisping and St-Pierre can sell the fight itself. The resume’s of the two UFC vet’s speak for themselves as well. Bisping entered the UFC in 2006, and has readily taken any challenge put in front of him in that time. St-Pierre began fighting for the company in 2004, and put on stellar performances yearly until the time of his hiatus. With all the talk of “money fights” in the Conor McGregor era of the sport, no two men deserve them more than the two loyal company men that are St-Pierre and Bisping.
This now poses the question, what about the contenders? With the current match-ups between top ranked middleweights Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza and Robert Whittaker, as well as the upcoming UFC 210 face-off between Mousasi and former middleweight kingpin Chris Weidman, the only remaining name is number one contender Yoel Romero. Although Romero has cleaned out much of the decision, it has been met with controversy. Frequent questionable in-fight actions, a positive PED test and a controversial decision over the aforementioned ‘Jacare’ have left somewhat of a cloud over Romero’s contender status. Although popular opinion would point to him deserving the Bisping fight, his reputation leaves some questions in the minds of many, helping the case of giving St-Pierre the shot first.
Perhaps the UFC allows the Cuban to wait on the sidelines and take on the winner of the Bisping-GSP fight. Either this, or a fight with a lower ranked contender could easily bring more attention to Romero, giving more of an incentive to give him his shot. I believe that if you give the time to allow Romero to build his name up more, and allow the Bisping vs St-Pierre fight to generate interest, it can make Romero’s eventual title shot much more attractive in the end.
Ultimately, I believe that if Georges St-Pierre comes to the UFC and says that he wants to fight Michael Bisping, then this is the fight to make. With the limited star power the UFC has to offer right now, bringing back one of their biggest draws helps everyone in the end. The combatants have put enough time into the sport to give them the chance to choose the fight they want, especially if the fight sells. In the end, this fight will be an event for everyone to remember, and that’s what it’s all about.
