Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre is the biggest fight the UFC could have possibly put at the top of UFC 217. St-Pierre is on the Mount Rushmore of all-time MMA greats, is making his comeback after four years in retirement and Bisping is no slouch himself. He’s earned 20 victories, the most in UFC history, while also being one of the few men to have won both “The Ultimate Fighter” and a UFC belt.
However, how Bisping vs. St-Pierre has come off does not seem to be gaining the traction it probably deserves. The reasons for this are manifold. Bisping’s trash talk is getting a bit played out. Fans who came to the sport because of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey don’t remember or care about GSP. And the stakes of the fight have also been undermined by the fact that both fighters are at the end of their careers and because Bisping is one of the weakest champions in the sport.
The 38-year-old Englishman has not fought in more than a year and his most high-profile wins came over a 46-year-old Dan Henderson and a 40-year-old Anderson Silva, who was coming off a failed PED test. Interim champion Robert Whittaker, who got the belt as the world waited for Bisping to fight St. Pierre, and the rest of the top five fighters in the division can all legitimately argue they’re better than Bisping.
The lack of buzz around the fight has obscured the fact that it is actually a fascinating matchup. When it was finally confirmed, St-Pierre was the slight favorite because he is the archetype of the modern mixed martial artist. Precise on his feet and smothering on the ground, he is a master of taking fights to the place where his opponent is most uncomfortable.
Bisping, on the other hand, is a bit of an oddball. He won the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2006 as a fast-talking 27-year-old light heavyweight but then dropped down to middleweight a year after he joined the big show. A jack of all trades but master of none, Bisping’s career progressed in fits and starts and he eventually earned the unofficial title of being the best fighter to have never competed for a belt. Then he beat Silva, took on champion Luke Rockhold on 17 days notice and stunned the world by getting a 1st round TKO/KO via a perfectly timed, and perhaps a bit lucky, short left hand.
The freakish nature of his victory over Rockhold and his subsequent unconvincing display against Henderson has Bisping back where he started: underrated. The champion has an insane motor, a very good chin and heart so big it makes up for any holes in his game. He’s also going to be significantly bigger than St-Pierre on fight night. St-Pierre was a small welterweight, while Bisping fought at 205 pounds and has had to cut down to 185. The weight difference could make it harder for St-Pierre to dominate with his prodigious wrestling.
Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre is the biggest fight the UFC could have possibly put at the top of UFC 217. St-Pierre is on the Mount Rushmore of all-time MMA greats, is making his comeback after four years in retirement and Bisping is no slouch himself. He’s earned 20 victories, the most in UFC history, while also being one of the few men to have won both “The Ultimate Fighter” and a UFC belt.
However, how Bisping vs. St-Pierre has come off does not seem to be gaining the traction it probably deserves. The reasons for this are manifold. Bisping’s trash talk is getting a bit played out. Fans who came to the sport because of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey don’t remember or care about GSP. And the stakes of the fight have also been undermined by the fact that both fighters are at the end of their careers and because Bisping is one of the weakest champions in the sport.
The 38-year-old Englishman has not fought in more than a year and his most high-profile wins came over a 46-year-old Dan Henderson and a 40-year-old Anderson Silva, who was coming off a failed PED test. Interim champion Robert Whittaker, who got the belt as the world waited for Bisping to fight St. Pierre, and the rest of the top five fighters in the division can all legitimately argue they’re better than Bisping.
The lack of buzz around the fight has obscured the fact that it is actually a fascinating matchup. When it was finally confirmed, St-Pierre was the slight favorite because he is the archetype of the modern mixed martial artist. Precise on his feet and smothering on the ground, he is a master of taking fights to the place where his opponent is most uncomfortable.
Bisping, on the other hand, is a bit of an oddball. He won the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2006 as a fast-talking 27-year-old light heavyweight but then dropped down to middleweight a year after he joined the big show. A jack of all trades but master of none, Bisping’s career progressed in fits and starts and he eventually earned the unofficial title of being the best fighter to have never competed for a belt. Then he beat Silva, took on champion Luke Rockhold on 17 days notice and stunned the world by getting a 1st round TKO/KO via a perfectly timed, and perhaps a bit lucky, short left hand.
The freakish nature of his victory over Rockhold and his subsequent unconvincing display against Henderson has Bisping back where he started: underrated. The champion has an insane motor, a very good chin and heart so big it makes up for any holes in his game. He’s also going to be significantly bigger than St-Pierre on fight night. St-Pierre was a small welterweight, while Bisping fought at 205 pounds and has had to cut down to 185. The weight difference could make it harder for St-Pierre to dominate with his prodigious wrestling.
