After such a massive night for mixed martial arts and the UFC, there are plenty of talking points. At the very top is the new middleweight champion…
Gracing the UFC octagon for the first time in four years, ex-welterweight king Georges St-Pierre faced Michael Bisping last night. With the middleweight title on the line, GSP faced a champion in an all-new weight class and did it in style.
Ironically, the man who very nearly dethroned GSP in 2013, Johny Hendricks, got destroyed at UFC 217. Meanwhile, St-Pierre did the wrecking in the main event, becoming the new UFC middleweight champion.
During the first round it was a close affair, with both men landing some decent shots. Into round three, ‘Rush’ turned up the heat and dropped Bisping with a left hook straight to the chin.
From there it was a matter of about 20 flush elbows before the inevitable finish came, and it was quite gory.
GSP is Back
After the win, as usual, St-Pierre was all class. He complimented Bisping after their fierce rivalry and trash talk and thanked his fans for their support. Now the king of a whole new division, there are many questions about whom St-Pierre should fight next.
Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley made his challenge quickly. Working the FOX analyst position for the event, ‘T-Wood’ found time to call out St-Pierre following his emphatic title victory:
Let's go @GeorgesStPierre no more running @ufc @danawhite
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) November 5, 2017
But it Doesn’t Sound Like Dana is Interested…
Woodley was originally meant to welcome St-Pierre back to action. After his title defense against Demian Maia was a little stale, Dana White yanked the carpet out from under Woodley vs. GSP.
Whether or not that’s fair is another story, but it happened nonetheless. Although Woodley holds St-Pierre’s former title, the man that makes these fights happen isn’t even entertaining the idea.
As per LowKickMMA.com, the UFC president does not want to see ‘Rush’ go up against ‘The Chosen One’ after UFC 217:
“Unbelievable. You know, to return from a four-fight layoff is never easy; very few have done it in their careers and look good. And not only did he come back after four years, but he moved up a weight class. And, you know, everybody thinks Michael Bisping’s an easy fight. Show me one fight where Michael Bisping was an easy fight.”
“Even tonight, when Georges took him down and was on top of him, Mike was doing a lot of damage from the bottom. He hit him with that elbow, split him open, hit him with a lot of elbows. GSP looked great tonight.”
“Yes, he’s staying at 185 pounds (haha).”
There you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. Just like that, Bisping is probably retired, GSP is back, Joanna champion got jumped and so did Cody Garbrandt. What a CRAZY night.
Stay tuned to Scrap Digest for more cool stories and videos from UFC 217, as we bring you everything hot off the press!
