MMA News: Dana White Reveals UFC’s Plan For Former Champ Georges St-Pierre
Former UFC two-division champion Georges St-Pierre has yet to fight in the Octagon since defeating Michael Bisping via third-round technical submission at UFC 217 to claim the UFC middleweight title. An ulcerative colitis forced St-Pierre to relinquish the middleweight belt and go on an indefinite hiatus. Recently, the 37-year-old Canadian mixed martial artist gave a hint that he’s ready to fight again.
However, Georges St-Pierre is not keeping an eye in the middleweight and welterweight division, but in a lower weight class: the lightweight division. Per SB Nation‘s MMA Mania, St-Pierre expressed his desire to fight the winner of the UFC 229 title fight between Conor McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. St-Pierre believes conquering the lightweight division will be good for his legacy and will give him a huge payday.
Unfortunately, the UFC doesn’t seem to be interested in letting Georges St-Pierre fight either Conor McGregor or Khabib Nurmagomedov. In a recent interview with BBC, UFC President Dana White said for the second time that they will not grant St-Pierre’s request to fight for the UFC lightweight title.
“I’m interested in Georges St-Pierre coming back at 170 [pounds],” White said, according to MMANYTT. “Not at 155 pounds. He was the 170-pound champion, he moved up to 185 pounds to take on Michael Bisping and put in his agreement that he would absolutely defend the title at 185 and then just dumped the title. I’m not interested. Georges St-Pierre is looking for one-off fights where he can make a lot of money, which it’s smart, that’s what he should do but we’re not interested in that.”
Dana White firm: Georges St-Pierre not fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor winner https://t.co/vDprqFw0Ss
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) August 18, 2018
Dana White revealed that their plan is to schedule a fight for Georges St-Pierre at 170 pounds. St-Pierre ruled the UFC welterweight division for years, and it was during those times when he was considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time. However, as of now, St-Pierre doesn’t look interested in returning to the middleweight division, even if it means fighting the reigning UFC champion, Tyron Woodley. Though the UFC still wants St-Pierre back, White opened up the possibility that the MMA legend will never fight again in the Octagon.
In a previous Inquisitr article, Georges St-Pierre gave three requirements for his next opponent. First, it needs to be a legacy upgrade. Second, it needs to make him serious money. And lastly, it would be great if they weren’t much bigger than him. The only fighters that meet all the criteria are Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. Unless the UFC lets him fight for the UFC lightweight title, St-Pierre is likely to extend his MMA hiatus.
