Georges St-Pierre: Feeling the Rush Again

And who said 2017 was a down year for the UFC?

I mean, yeah, Payperview buys are way down from last year, and the biggest draws from last year are either done with the sport, fighting in other sports, or are Cheaty McCheaterfaces (although I’m totally waiting for the adjudication process to play out before I form an opinion), but 2017 is still the best year on record for the leader in MMA.

Why? Because Dana White said it is, so shut up.

Regardless of how good the UFC’s business is right now, I’m sure the owners have to be pleased with how UFC 217, the promotion’s big return to Madison Square Garden, played out, producing what may be, from top to bottom, the best card of the year.

This show really had everything, from spinning KOs to head kick KOs to doctor stoppages and dudes getting disqualified because who has time to listen to the referee when the dude just dropped his hands?

We also saw new contenders establish themselves, via Paulo “Borrachinha” Costa’s decimation of Johny Hendricks, and old contenders reaffirm their status, via Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson’s unanimous decision win over Jorge “I Can Haz Homophobic Slurs Too?” Masvidal.

And the title fights…who would have expected that all three title fights on this show would result in new champions?

The most surprising win was Rose Namajunas’ first round TKO to become the new UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion. She refused to let Joanna get in her head and ended up getting into Joanna’s…with her fists.

The only unfortunate part of Joanna’s loss is that we can’t call her Joanna Champion anymore. Would anyone care if I just call her Joanna Not Champion? That last name has a lot of letters in it…

We also saw the next chapter of the neverending saga between TJ Dillashaw and Team Alpha Male, when, after almost being finished, TJ knocked Cody Garbrandt out in the second round to become a 2 time UFC Bantamweight Champion. I’m sure Dominick Cruz is excited for TJ. Urijah Faber too, if he’s serious about coming out of retirement to fight him. Good thing they’ll all be left in the cold while TJ continues to pursue a fight with Demetrious Johnson.

And the main event, the one that had dragged on in some form or fashion for a year, concluded in one of the most surprising yet “No Shit” moments of the year.

I can’t imagine too many people thought they’d ever see the words “Georges St-Pierre: UFC Middleweight Champion” uttered by anyone, but it makes more sense when you realize he defeated Michael Bisping to do it.

Yes, Bisping. The man who became champion in a short notice fight against a man who was too busy thinking about what he was going to get for dinner to accept “The Count” as a serious threat, who then held the title hostage while he pursued personal vendettas and money fights, knowing he could get away with it because the UFC doesn’t care about rankings.

Well then, I guess it’s a good thing then that the man who resisted defending the belt against top contenders has ceded the championship to a man who…will likely also resist defending the belt against top contenders.

Ah crap.

So no. It was not a shock that St-Pierre, the best welterweight fighter of all time and one of, if not the best fighter ever was able to return from a 4 year absence to beat Bisping at 185 pounds. What was a shock was the way he won the fight, as the main path to victory for GSP, his stifling takedowns and top control, resulted in Bisping bloodying him up with punches and elbows from the bottom.

After a good first round for GSP, it was Bisping who had the advantage after Round 2, but it mattered little when, in Round 3, GSP used his counterstriking to drop Bisping with a left hand before sinking in a rear naked choke and putting the champ to sleep.

And, just like that, Georges St-Pierre is champion again. But it may not be for long. Or it might be, depending on if UFC thinks they can make a lot of money keeping the belt on him.

It’s hard to say what Georges will do next. Obviously, he has a fight right in front of him vs. Interim Champion Robert Whittaker, who Dana says Georges will fight next, but I’m sure Dana believes that as much as he believes Georges still owes Hendricks a rematch at 170.

Should GSP fight Whittaker next? Yes, he should, as long as he’s still champion. Georges, of course, can relinquish the belt if he wants to chase other challengers, though.

Defend or Vacate. Let’s go, St-McNuggets.

Other possibilities for future fights are the usual suspects: creating a new logjam at 170 by cutting the line and challenging Tyron Woodley, finally accepting the long-awaited superfight against Anderson Silva that 5 people are still interested in seeing, or calling out Conor McGregor for what could be THE BIGGEST MMA FIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF FOREVER!!!!!

Do one of those three options seem most likely for Georges’ next fight? I think so, if only because he didn’t come back to defend titles. That’s the reason why he left. He came back to have fun and chase after unique challenges. He’s back to enjoy himself and embrace the Moneyweight life that Conor cultivated, although I’m sure it’ll take a lot of work convincing Dana that he’s worthy of some of the same opportunities, like moving over to boxing and challenging Golovkin to 12 rounds.

On the other hand, St-Pierre respects the sport and the integrity of the sport a lot more than someone like Conor does, so it seems likely that, if he doesn’t fight Whittaker next, he’ll vacate the belt to take whichever fight he wants next.

Doing so would ultimately prove UFC 217’s main event to be nothing but a huge waste of time, only put together because UFC didn’t have a better fight to try and sell out MSG with, but we already knew that’s all this was ever going to be, right?

A waste of time. A hugely entertaining waste of time. A likely financially lucrative waste of time which will indicate to the UFC that these types of nonsense fights sell, meaning they will continue to be booked, eschewing deserving fighters in favor of well known fighters from way back when looking to make a lot of money.

So, congrats on sending the wrong message to the UFC, everyone. I hope you’re happy with yourselves…

Evan Zivin has been writing for 411 MMA since May of 2013. Evan loves the sport, and likes to takes a lighthearted look at the world of MMA in his writing…usually.