So, all that speculation that you read about Georges St-Pierre’s return to the cage taking place in the middleweight division? Yeah, you can scratch that.
On announcing St-Pierre’s comeback after his self-imposed hiatus from the sport, the UFC eagerly announced that the Canadian superstar would immediately challenge for Michael Bisping’s middleweight title in his first fight back. A press conference was held, posters were designed and the two fighters engaged in the now familiar veil of trash-talk in the media. One thing was missing, however: an actual date for the fight.
As the uncertainty as to when they would meet wore on, a host of fighters inside the UFC’s 185-pound frame grew antsy. Yoel Romero, whose number one contender spot had been usurped by St-Pierre, began to campaign for an interim title shot while he sat on the sidelines. Luke Rockhold and Anderson Silva both sounded their discontentment, too. So when St-Pierre revealed that it will likely be in the region of October before he fights (something he says the UFC knew all along), it started to become clear that the proposed Bisping vs. GSP match-up was looking unlikely at best.
White has since changed tack. Yoel Romero, he says, will now be Michael Bisping’s next opponent inside the UFC when the Brit return from a minor knee injury, while GSP will return to his old stomping ground at 170-pounds to face whoever holds the title by the time he’s ready to return to the cage.
“The thing was supposed to happen in July,” White said. “Michael Bisping is going to have to defend his title now. We’re not waiting for GSP. We’re moving on with the division, and Yoel Romero will get the next shot,” White said, as per IBTimes.
“[St-Pierre] says he will fight whoever the 170-pound champion is when he comes back.”
This is news that will likely come as music to the ears of current welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, a fighter who has been campaigning for a ‘money fight’ of his own. First for him though, he must get past the challenge of Demian Maia — a task each of the Brazilian’s past seven opponents failed.
