Georges St-Pierre makes return at UFC 217 against Michael Bisping
ONE of the best in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) history makes his Octagon return this weekend as former welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St-Pierre takes on reigning middleweight champ Michael “The Count” Bisping at “UFC 217” on Sunday (Manila time) in New York.
Coming back to fight after four years of “taking a break,” 36-year-old St-Pierre (25-2) looks to return with a bang by seizing the middleweight title and becoming a two-division world champion.
Also featured in the UFC offering at the fabled Madison Square Garden are the bantamweight title fight between champion Cody “No Love” Garbrandt (11-0) and former champ and teammate TJ Dillashaw (15-3) as well as the women’s strawweight championship clash between titleholder Joanna Jedrzeczyk (14-0) and “Thug” Rose Namajunas (7-3).
While he is coming off a long layoff, Mr. St-Pierre said he is coming in prepared in what he considers a “big fight” in his career against a tough champion in Mr. Bisping (30-7).
Prior to vacating the welterweight title and taking a break in December 2013, Canadian St-Pierre won 12 straight fights, the last one coming at the expense of American Johny Hendricks by a narrow split decision at UFC 167 which was later named performance of the night.
Out to frustrate Mr. St-Pierre in his mission in claiming another title and joining an elite group of multiple UFC division champions, which only counts Randy Couture, BJ Penn and Conor McGregor as members, is Mr. Bisping, who is making his second title defense after winning the middleweight gold in June last year.
In his first title defense in October 2016, Mr. Bisping beat rival Dan Henderson by unanimous decision and exacting a payback on the latter for the devastating knockout loss he dealt Mr. Bisping back in 2009.
CATERING TO EVERY FAN
With three title fights offering varying dynamics, one local combat sports writer and observer said UFC 217 has everything any fan wants in a single event.
“On paper, all three title fights provide equal levels of excitement catering to every UFC fan. To start off, Joanna Jędrzejczyk has been very impressive, sweeping the entire strawweight division since taking the belt from Carla Esparza two years ago. Out to challenge her is the upset-minded Rose Namajunas who is likewise deadly both on feet and ground. In the co-main event, former Team Alpha Male teammates TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt gets to finally settle their bad blood inside the cage with the bantamweight title at stake. And with Garbrandt’s belt on the line, it is a perfect recipe to steal the show,” said Mike Miguel, who writes for local sites DojoDrifter.com and Tiebreaker Times, when asked by BusinessWorld for his thoughts on UFC 217.
“Lastly, fight fans will finally get to see the much-awaited return of former welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre as he challenges middleweight king Michael Bisping to culminate the stacked card. It will be interesting to see how GSP will perform four years after he last fought inside the Octagon against the toughtalking British champion,” he added.
Mr. Miguel went on to say that Ms. Jędrzejczyk and Mr. Garbrandt are favorites to emerge on top in their respective fights while leaving the outcome for the Bisping-St-Pierre fight open.
“Joanna Champion has paved a path of destruction, dismantling every challenger pitted against her. Unless ‘Thug Rose’ would pull off a shocker, it will be another dominant win for the Polish standout to tie Ronda Rousey’s record for most title defenses. ‘No Love’ put up his finest performance of his young career against ex-champ Dominick Cruz, making the latter miss while making himself look good inside the cage. Something Dillashaw fell short in the past. If Dillashaw cannot put the stops on Garbrandt’s angles on offense, we will see the current Team Alpha Male standout reigning supreme over the former,” he said.
“GSP is among the sport’s greatest, and the UFC stats show why: he’s either led or in the top 10 of most categories such as total strikes and takedowns landed, takedown accuracy, and significant strikes landed. So fans would like to see a vintage performance from him. However, we also have seen time catching up with the best. And Michael Bisping is among the few who have been able to adapt to the changing environment in the UFC. Also, we cannot forget that he’s the best in landing significant strikes in the entire promotion which is why St-Pierre will have his work cut out. It’s a tough fight to call but I’m expecting a recharged St-Pierre to push Bisping to the limit,” Mr. Miguel added.
Other fights on tap for UFC 217 are those of welterweight Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (#2) against Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal and middleweight Hendricks versus Paulo Borrachinha.
UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre will be shown live on Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. over Hyper Ch. 91 in SD or 261 in HD on Cignal TV. Encore telecast is at 6 p.m. on the same day.
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. —