A biopic on the life and times of UFC legend and former two-division champion Georges St. Pierre is currently in development, according to Variety.
The Canadian star is involved with the project, as is Quebec director Thomas Soto, that will focus on his rise from a small town in Quebec to becoming one of UFC’s most well-known fighters in their history.
From the Variety piece:
“The filmmakers say they want to strip away the myth of “GSP the global icon” to “reveal Georges, the man.”
No actors or timeline for an anticipated released accompanied the announcement. St. Pierre has acted before, appearing in Captain America: The Winter Solider and Kickboxer: Vengeance, but it was not indicated that he will play himself.
St. Pierre (26-2) last fought in November 2017, defeating Michael Bisping to become the UFC middleweight champion at UFC 217. That was his first fight in four years when he defeated Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in a controversial decision, relinquishing the welterweight title afterward.
St. Pierre was dominant during his entire career, losing just twice in the UFC — once to Matt Hughes and then once to Matt Serra. In both cases, he avenged both losses and in dominant fashion.
Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson went to a 30:00 draw in what was among the best television matches in U.S. history and arguably the best bout ever on Dynamite in their dream match at the company’s debut in New York City on 9/22 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The non-title match presumably sets up a longer time limit championship match down the road. For Full Gear, the decision would seem to be Omega defending against either Danielson or Adam Page.
The show was a landmark event for the promotion, breaking both attendance and gate records and ended up as the second largest non-WWE gate for pro wrestling in U.S. history and the largest attended non-WWE pro wrestling event in the country in 22 years.
The most talked about aspect of the week was the ratings, and whether the show would beat Raw. Dynamite in its history had two episodes that beat Raw’s 0.49 (642,000) in 18-49, the very first episode and the show two weeks earlier coming off All Out and the debuts of Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole.
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FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
We will be doing our weekly show with Garrett Gonzalez tomorrow night rather than tonight to cover the UFC PPV show. We will have a Sunday show with Bryan Alvarez covering Extreme Rules.
For this weekend, we’ll be doing polls on the UFC & Extreme Rules shows but not for G-1 which we’ll limit to the major shows on the tour. It’s thumbs up, down or middle and best and worst match. We’re also looking for reports on the GCW shows, dark matches and anything else notable from Smackdown in Philadelphia, tomorrow night’s WWE house show in Hershey, PA and the New Japan shows Saturday and Sunday in Garland, TX to [email protected]
The UFC held its Hall of Fame ceremony last night in Las Vegas. Inducted were Georges St-Pierre, with Royce Gracie speaking for him, the late Kevin Randleman, who has close friends Bas Rutten and Mark Coleman along with wife Elizabeth there, the Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson fight and Marc Ratner, who was introduced by Lorenzo Fertitta and Lawrence Epstein. Dustin Poirier was given the Forrest Griffin Community Award for his work for charity in his home city of Lafayette, LA. Ratner had previously been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
Dark Side of the Ring last night on Chris Kanyon did 214,000 viewers and 0.07 in 18-49.
Smackdown tonight from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. on FOX:
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews for the IC title
Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega
Debut of Happy Talk with Happy Corbin
205 Live matches are Ember Moon vs. Cora Jade, Xyon Quinn vs. Oney Lorcan and Ikemen Jiro vs Malik Blade.
Rampage tonight on TNT at 10 p.m:
C.M. Punk vs.Powerhouse Hobbs
Young Bucks & Adam Cole vs. Christian Cage & Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy
Penta & Fenix & Santana & Ortiz vs Private Party & Butcher & Blade
Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford
Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer in a lights out match
For those with DVRs taping the show, it is being listed as two separate shows so make sure both hours are being taped or you may miss hour two.
The UFC 266 PPV is tomorrow night from Las Vegas at the T Mobile Arena:
6 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+
Omar Morales (145.5) vs. Jonathan Pearce (145.5)
Mat Semelsberger (170.5) vs. Martin Sano (170)
Cody Brundage (185.5) vs. Nick Maximov (185.5)
Uros Medic (156) vs. Jalin Turner (156)
8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN News
Roxanne Modaferri (125.5) vs Talia Santos (125)
Chris Daukaus (231) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (258)
Dan Hooker (155.5) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (154.5)
Marlon Moraes (135.5) vs. Merab Dvalishvili (135.5)
PPV at 10 p.m. Eastern
Jessica Andrade (126) vs. Cynthia Calvillo (126)
Curtis Blaydes (261) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (257)
Robbie Lawler (184) vs. Nick Diaz (185.5)
Valentina Shevchenko (124) vs. Lauren Murphy (125) for the women’s flyweight title
Alexander Volkanovski (144.5) vs Brian Ortega (144) for the featherweight title
The last three fights will be five rounds. Lawler vs. Diaz was moved from 170 to 185 because Diaz asked at the last minute for that.
The CMLL Anniversary show is tonight:
Templario vs. Dragon Rojo Jr.for the vacant Mexican national middleweight title
Volador Jr. & Titan vs. Los Gemelo Diablos for the vacant CMLL tag titles
Ultimo Guerrero vs. Hechicero for the CMLL heavyweight title
Rey Cometa & Espiritu Negro vs Espanto Jr. & Akuma for the Mexican national tag titles
Jarochita & Lluvia vs. Reyna Isis & Dark Silueta for the Mexican national women’s tag titles
This is the first anniversary show in history, and they date back to 1934, with a women’s main event. Isis will be wrestling as she tested negative for COVID She had gotten COVID two weeks ago so she wasn’t going to be able to be on the show without a negative test.
Game Changer Wrestling on Fite TV from the Melrose Ballroom in New York at 8 p.m. headlined by Minoru Suzuki vs. Homicide and Nick Gage vs. Grim Reefer.
Dwayne Johnson just completed filming of the movie “DC’s League of Super Pets”. Johnson plays the role of Superman’s dog. It will hit the theaters next summer.
WWE
A story on Joe Gacy, who has been getting air time on NXT is at (thanks to Barry Werner)
The A&E Biographies have been released on DVD with four on each DVD by Lionsgate.
AEW
Tony Khan said that the Owen tournament was never going to be called the King of Hearts tournament. He said the Owen tournament has been the name for a long time. They applied for a trademark for King of Hearts on the behalf of Dr. Martha Hart and was planning on giving it to her as a gift.
Marty Scurll is booked for a 10/23 sho for an independent promotion in San Juan, PR. Scurll hasn’t wrestled since he did a New Japan taping months ago, but the reaction to it was so strong New Japan removed all of his appearances from the shows. He had been the booker in ROH until claims were made against him by a woman who at the time was 16 and he was 27. Scurll admitted it happened but said it was consensual while the woman said it was not.
BWO on 10/9 in Lanoka Harbor, NJ at the Lacey Township High School has Alex Hammerstone, Anthony Greene and others plus a match for the so-called ownership of the promotion between the BWO and the Coraluzzo Collection Agency.
Adrian Jaoude, formerly Arturo Ruas in WWE, is available for bookings through Bill Behrens at [email protected]. Jaoude is based in Orlando, FL.
James Frewin, who was the Vice President and General Manager for WWE in the Australia and New Zealand territories, has joined the PFL as Senior Vice President International.
LFA tonight on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. from Oshkosh, WI
Ronald Dunlap (184.6) vs. James Waller (187)
Edwin Cooper (146) vs. Andrew Johnson (145.8)
Kathryn Paprocki (115.4) vs. Hilarie Rose (117.6)
Jake Kozorosky (155) vs. Lucas Clay (156)
Chad Johnson (231.6) vs. Jordan Heiderma (240.4)
Josh Silveira (204) vs. Tee Cummins (203.8) for light heavyweight title
Waller and Rose both missed weight and had to pay a penalty
Hernandez headlines Lucha de los Muertos on 10/30 at The Forge in Mississauga, ONT.
Thunder Rosa appears for AIW on 10/2 in Akron, OH at the Tadmor Shrine. Psycho Clown appears 11/26 in Eastlake, OH at Force Sports.
Shoot Pro Wrestling takes place tonight at 10 pm. Eastern at ShootProWrestling.com. There are both singles matches and a tag team tournament taking place with all matches being legitimate under rules that were the brainchild of people like Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson.
Laynie Luck vs. Brandi Lauren will be the match on ROH’s Women’s Division Wednesday.
Sebastian Przybysz (8-2) defends his KSW bantamweight title against Bruno Santos (10-2) on the next KSW show on 10/23 from the Atlas Arena in Lodz,Poland. The other main event is former strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski (15-7) facing Senegal wrestling legend Bambardier (2-0).
Super Star Wars has the David Cody (Norton Lewis) Memorial show tomorrow night in Taylors SC at Eastside High School. EC 3 vs. Caprice Coleman and the Koloff Dynasty managed by Nikita Koloff vs. Crazzy Steve & Brian Pillman Jr. headline, plus John Skylar vs.Tim Storm, Mikal Judas vs. Logan Cred, Wes Brisco will be managed by Gerald Brisco.
Live from Montreal, Canada’s Bell Centre, watch former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s expected retirement press conference live starting around 10:30 AM Eastern:
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 217: Bisping vs. St. Pierre, emanating from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
The UFC returns to the Big Apple for their biggest event of the year, with three title fights, and featuring the return of arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history looking to capture gold in a second weight division.
Former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon after four years as he challenges Michael Bisping for the UFC Middleweight Championship.
The fight has been a roller coaster since first being announced in March, and at many times it looked like it wasn’t going to happen, but they will finally step across from each other tonight. St. Pierre looks to regain gold and win his 13th straight fight while Bisping looks to make his second title defense successful. Both men have vowed to retire the other.
In the co-main event, it is another long-awaited title fight as rivals and former teammates go to war. UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt makes his first title defense when he takes on former champion T.J. Dillashaw. They have gone back-and-forth all over the last year, and after being scheduled to fight in July only to be postponed, they finally square off.
In our third title fight, it will be UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk looking to continue her dominance at 115 pounds when she defends against Rose Namajunas. Namajunas has won four of her last five and will pose an interesting test for Jedrzejczyk, who is looking to remain undefeated and win her 15th straight fight.
Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time with preliminary action all the way through the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and a worst fight to Dave at [email protected].
Zahabi was on the attack early and got the clinch and landed a knee before they scrambled to the mat with Ramos on top. They scrambled a bit on the mat before getting to their feet. Ramos lands a couple of heavy leg kicks. They traded and Zahabi was looking to set up the takedown. Ramos got a brief takedown but Zahabi got up. Zahabi landed a right hand. Zahabi landed some good punches and took the back of Ramos. Zahabi tried a judo throw but Ramos reversed out and got a slam as they got to their feet before the round ended. 10-9 Ramos.
Zahabi is pressing the action but not doing much on the attack as Ramos lands a leg kick to start the second round. Zahabi landed a couple of right hands. Ramos went for a kick but it was caught by Zahabi who missed taking him down. Zahabi landed an uppercut. The pace slowed at the end as both were looking to set something big up. Zahabi landed the jab a couple of times towards the end. 10-9 Zahabi, 19-19.
They came out trading to start the third round. Zahabi applying the pressure. Zahabi landed an uppercut. Zahabi looking for a big punch. Zahabi landed another uppercut. All of a sudden Ramos landed a spinning back elbow that knocked Zahabi out cold. Wow. It came out of nowhere. One of the best knockouts of the year.
Official Result- Ricardo Ramos def. Aiemann Zahabi by knockout (spinning back elbow) at 1:58 of Round 3
> Aleksei Oleinik (#9, 52-10-1, 4-1 UFC) vs. Curtis Blaydes (#12, 7-1 1 NC, 2-1 1 NC UFC) Heavyweights
Blaydes gets a quick takedown but Oleinik is dangerous on the mat. They got back up. Oleinik landed an uppercut. They traded punches. They clinched and Oleinik landed a heavy uppercut. Oleinik landing more punches. Blaydes got a takedown. They got to their feet and traded strikes before Blaydes got another takedown and is in side control. Blaydes landed a big right hand and Oleinik landed some punches in return. They clinched and both landed uppercuts. Blaydes then droped Oleinik with a hard punch. Oleinik got back up and had Blaydes clinched against the fence. Oleinik then fell as he tried to drag Blaydes down. Blaydes landed some big right hands at the end, it was a surprise that Oleinik survived. 10-9 Blaydes.
Blaydes came out landing punches and kicks. Oleinik was landing in return but not with the volume of Blaydes. Blaydes got a big takedown and is working in the guard. Blaydes got to his feet and then landed an illegal kick as Oleinik was getting to his feet. It barely touched his ear. We have some controversy now. The fight was stopped by the doctor and the referee as Oleinik was deemed unable to continue. Blaydes is furious. We are going to instant replay to determine a decision. Blaydes was then announced as the winner. This is weird. Even Blaydes is confused.
Official Result- Curtis Blaydes def. Aleksei Oleinik by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 1:56 of Round 2
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> Randy Brown (9-2, 3-2 UFC) vs. Mickey Gall (4-0, 3-0 UFC) Welterweights
Brown landed a solid combo inside the first thirty seconds. Gall is on the retreat. Gall fired back with a big right hand. They clinched and Brown landed a hard knee to the body. Brown with another knee and then got a takedown. Brown landed some big hammerfists. Gall went for a kimura but it allowed Brown to posture back up. Brown in total control from the top but Gall is working from the bottom. Brown landing some big elbows from the top. Gall can’t get up. Brown with more hard elbows and Gall is cut open. 10-9 Brown.
Gall still bleeding pretty good to start the second. Brown landed a kick and Gall tried a takedown but ended up on the bottom but was able to reverse and is in the guard of Brown. They were scrambling on the mat and Brown may have landed an illegal upkick but they continued. Gall is in side control. Gall landing some punches as he’s trying for the mounted crucifix position. They scrambled and Gall went back into the full guard. Gall looking for a choke in side control but didn’t have it. Brown escaped but Gall got into the full mount but Brown was able to slide out from the bottom. Strong round for Gall. 10-9 Gall, 19-19.
Gall went right for a takedown but ate an uppercut from Brown on the way in and Brown started to tee off on Gall on the mat looking to finish. Gall was able to survive and recover by grabbing the neck. Gall is pouring blood. Brown landing enough punches to keep the fight down and Gall isn’t doing anything on the bottom. Brown landing more from the top inside the guard. Gall grabbing the neck and grabbed the fence and has a guillotine locked in but Brown was able to escape. Gall can’t get up from the bottom. Brown stands up and Gall follows but the fight ends with no action. 10-9 Brown, 29-28 Brown.
Official Result- Randy Brown def. Mickey Gall by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
NEWS: The UFC announced their schedule for the first three months of 2018. There will be nine events. It kicks off January 14 in St. Louis, Missouri. Following that will be UFC 220 in Boston, Massachusetts. Rounding out January will be a January 27 event in Charlotte, North Carolina. February has three events- February 3 in Belem, Brazil, UFC 221 on February 10 in Perth, Austraila, February 18 in Austin, Texas, and February 24 in Orlando, Florida. Two events take place in March, with UFC 222 on March 3 in Las Vegas, and an event on March 17 in London, England.
> Ovince Saint Preux (#6, 21-10, 9-5 UFC) vs. Corey Anderson (#7, 9-3, 6-3 UFC) Light Heavyweights
Saint Preux landed a hard left hand to start off. Anderson got a couple of big takedowns back-to-back inside the first minute and has the back. They got back to their feet and Anderson is working hard to get another takedown. Anderson was landing punches as Saint Preux was back up and Anderson went for another takedown against the fence. Anderson with a spinning elbow and back to work for the takedown. They broke the clinch and back to the center. Saint Preux with a knee to the body as he stuffs a takedown attempt. Saint Preux with a late flurry that drops Anderson. 10-9 Anderson.
Saint Preux with a big head kick to start the second and Anderson is in trouble. Anderson got a quick timeout as he lost his mountpiece and it allowed Anderson to recover. Anderson working for a takedown. They broke and Anderson went right back working for another takedown. They broke away again. Anderson attempts another takedown and finishes it this time. Anderson gets to the back. They get to their feet. Anderson drags the fight back to the mat and Anderson is landing punches but they get back up. Slower pace at the end. 10-9 Anderson, 20-18 Anderson.
Anderson went for a takedown but it was defended though he landed a right hand on the break. Anderson lands a right hand followed by a left. Saint Preux then knocked Anderson out cold with a head kick out of nowhere. That is a comeback win there and we have another contender for a bonus. That was nasty. OSP called for a fight with Ilir Latifi next on December 30.
Official Result- Ovince Saint Preux def. Corey Anderson by knockout (head kick) at 1:25 of Round 3
> Walt Harris (10-6, 3-5 UFC) vs. Mark Godbeer (12-3, 1-1 UFC) Heavyweights
Harris coming out firing with some kicks. They trade punches. Harris with a grazing head kick. They are both throwing with lots of power. Harris gets a takedown into side control and goes right to mount and landed some big punches. Harris working inside the full guard. They trade punches on the mat, Harris with more power being he’s on top. Harris with heavy left hands inside the guard. Godbeer able to get to his feet but eats some knees to the body before they break. Harris with a left hand and Godbeer with a body kick. Harris landed a low blow and the referee called timeout and Harris landed a head kick after timeout was called. That seemed blatant and is definitely a foul. The fight is stopped as Godbeer is unable to continue. This should be a disqualification win for Godbeer.
Official Result- Mark Godbeer def. Walt Harris by disqualification (illegal kick) at 4:25 of Round 1
> James Vick (11-1, 7-1 UFC) vs. Joseph Duffy (16-2, 4-1 UFC) Lightweights
They were throwing feints early. Vick landed a body kick but got tripped up as Duffy grabbed his leg. Duffy with the pressure. Duffy lands some punches but Vick counters with a straight right hand followed by an uppercut. Duffy lands a right hand. Duffy landing the jab. Duffy grabs the leg on a kick and gets a takedown. Duffy trips Vick on an inside leg kick. Duffy with a right hand to the body. Vick just misses a head kick. Duffy lands a right hand and scores a takedown. Vick grabs the neck. They each land in the final seconds of the round. 10-9 Duffy.
Duffy with a body kick to start the second round. Duffy with a head kick. He’s able to keep away from Vick’s attacks, which is good with Vick’s reach advantage. Vick lands a left hand after ducking under a right hand. Vick lands the jab and a leg kick. Neither man unable to get a big advantage over the other but both landing. Vick just misses a head kick. More methodical pace to this round. Vick lands a head kick after hurting Duffy with a low kick. Vick then drops Duffy with a right uppercut and starts landing punches and finishes him right before the horn to end the round. Wow. Big win for James Vick. Vick calls for a main event spot on the February UFC event in Austin.
Official Result- James Vick def. Joseph Duffy by TKO (punches) at 4:59 of Round 2
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> Johny Hendricks (18-7, 13-7 UFC) vs. Paulo Costa (10-0, 2-0 UFC) Middleweights
Costa with a leg kick and then a big body kick. Costa with another body kick. Hendricks with a leg kick. Hendricks went for a takedown but Costa broke the clinch with a knee. Costa misses a spinning head kick. Costa with a body kick and Hendricks lands a left hand. Costa controlling the Octagon and lands a right hand. Hendricks with a leg kick following a combo. Coata with a knee to the body. Hendricks lands two left hands followed by a leg kick. Costa misses again on a spinning head kick. Costa with a big knee and a body kick at the end. 10-9 Costa.
We have an eye poke to start the round and a quick timeout but back to action quickly. Costa hurts Hendricks with a head kick and is teeing off with punches. Costa with a head kick and then another. Costa with a right hand and Hendricks is in trouble. Costa with an uppercut and more punches on the ground as Hendricks was going for a takedown and the fight is stopped. Costa with the big win.
Official Result- Paulo Costa def. Johny Hendricks by TKO (punches) at 1:23 of Round 2
> Stephen Thompson (#2, 13-2-1, 8-2-1 UFC) vs. Jorge Masvidal (#4, 32-12, 9-5 UFC) Welterweights
Thompson looking for leg kicks early. Both being patient. Masvidal with a body kick. Thompson with a side head kick. Masvidal with a leg kick and Thompson fires back with a combo. They are both looking for openings but not much is there. Masvidal with a body kick. Thompson lands a right hand. Thompson with a front leg side kick to the body that drops Masvidal. Masvidal with a leg kick and Thompson fires back with a left hand. Thompson with another straight left hand. 10-9 Thompson.
Thompson with a front leg side kick to the head. Masvidal then landed a good combo of punches against the fence. Thompson knocks Masvidal down with a right hand. Masvidal gets up. Both men being patient. Thompson lands a left hand. Masvidal has been unable to get inside the range of Thompson. Masvidal clipped Thompson with a left hook. 10-9 Thompson, 20-18 Thompson.
Masvidal went for a takedown against the fence but it was defended. He needs to win this round. Thompson lands a good combination. Thompson with another good combo and just misses a wheel kick to the head. Masvidal with a body kick and Thompson counters with a side kick to the body. They traded right hands. Thompson lands a good series of punches. Thompson is cut underneath his eye. Thompson with a good combo of punches. Thompson with a right hand. They trade punches at the end of the fight. 10-9 Thompson, 30-27 Thompson.
Official Result- Stephen Thompson def. Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
> Joanna Jedrzejczyk (C, 14-0, 8-0 UFC) vs. Rose Namajunas (#4, 6-3, 4-2 UFC) UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Intense stare down. Both ladies land early. Jedrzejczyk with a combo and a leg kick. Namajunas knocks Jedrzejczyk down with a big right hand. Namajunas gets the mount then has the back but lets Joanna up. Namajunas with a right hand. Namajunas then drops Jedrzejczyk with a left hand and then finishes her off. WOW. This is a huge upset. Namajunas is the new champion. Jedrzejczyk also tapped out due to the strikes.
Official Result- Rose Namajunas def. Joanna Jedrzejczyk by knockout (punches) at 3:03 of Round 1, Namajunas becomes the new UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion
No glove touch here either. Garbrandt looking for a heavy right hand early as Dillashaw works his movement. Garbandt just misses a body kick. Dillashaw missing on his leg kick attempts. Garbrandt lands a combo on Dillashaw. Wild flurry from both. Garbrandt lands a right hand and then a combo. Garbrandt with some body punches. Dillashaw just misses a head kick. Dillashaw landed a big right hand. Garbrandt dropped Dillashaw with a right hand with just five seconds left. Dillashaw stumbled to his corner and is in trouble. Garbrandt shot him the finger and told him he’s number one. 10-9 Garbrandt.
Dillashaw misses a head kick and Garbrandt taunts him over it. Dillashaw then knocked Garbrandt down with a head kick but Garbrandt got back up. Garbrandt seems okay after the knockdown. Dillashaw then rocks and drops Garbrandt down with a right hand and finishes him! Dillashaw is once again the champion at 135 pounds. Another upset on this card.
Official Result- TJ Dillashaw def. Cody Garbrandt by knockout (punches) at 2:41 of Round 2, Dillashaw becomes the new UFC Bantamweight Champion
> Michael Bisping (C, 30-7, 20-7 UFC) vs. Georges St. Pierre (25-2, 19-2 UFC) UFC Middleweight Championship
They touched gloves! Both men patient in the opening thirty seconds. St. Pierre lands a right hand. He lands the jab. Bisping missing his punches. St. Pierre with a roundhouse kick. Bisping lands a right hand. St. Pierre with a leg kick followed by a right hand then rocks Bisping with a jab but Bisping fires back with a right hand. St. Pierre gets a takedown. Bisping tried to grab the fence to block it. They got back up. St. Pierre with a Superman punch that rocks Bisping and just misses a spin kick. 10-9 St. Pierre.
Bisping unable to establish his range and is fighting conservative. St. Pierre lands a left hand. Bisping misses a right hand. Bisping with an inside leg kick. St. Pierre with a side kick. St. Pierre with a body kick. Bisping lands a right hand. St. Pierre with the double jab and gets the takedown. St. Pierre in half-guard. Bisping tried to grab the shorts of GSP to get up. They got to their feet. Bisping with a right hand. Bisping with a jumping head kick. St. Pierre with a body kick. 10-9 Bisping, 19-19.
St. Pierre gets a takedown to start the third. Bisping has St. Pierre in his full guard. St. Pierre is cut open. Both men landing strikes on the mat. They get back to their feet and GSP is a bloody mess. Bisping lands a right hand. GSP lands a couple of overhand rights. St. Pierre with a side kick to the body. St. Pierre drops Bisping with a left hand and is dropping elbows and has Bisping in a lot of trouble. GSP looking for the fnish and grabs the back and locks in a rear-naked choke. It is in deep and Bisping is out! GSP has choked Bisping unconscious. GSP wins in his return. We have a new champion.
Official Result- Georges St. Pierre def. Michael Bisping by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:23 of Round 3, St. Pierre becomes the new UFC Middleweight Champion
It took long enough, but the UFC and future Hall-of-Famer Georges St. Pierre finally came to terms on a new contract and already have his first fight booked: a middleweight title shot against champion Michael Bisping at some point in 2017.
Even without a venue or a date, the two will have their first press conference to begin building the fight Friday at 5 PM EST.
St. Pierre will be 36 when he steps into the Octagon for the first time in more than three years, a long layoff that included recovery from an ACL tear. He is getting the shot despite never having fought at 185 pounds and with several challengers waiting for Bisping.
Bisping is coming off the best year of his long career, having bested Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson and Luke Rockhold, the latter in a shocking upset for the belt. He has been trying to make this fight since GSP announced he wanted to return. While many assumed this fight would be in Toronto this past December, the negotiations to make it happen fell through.
Speculation is the bout will take place as part of International Fight Week this July in Las Vegas, NV.
One of the most popular MMA fighters in UFC history and the man responsible for igniting the interest of an entire country looks to finally be making his way back to the Octagon after a multi-year layoff.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported Wednesday that former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and the UFC have hammered out terms on a new multi-fight contract, ending a long period of negotiation and consistent denials of his return from UFC president Dana White.
Helwani said that the expectation is the Canadian star will return in the third quarter of 2017, but an opponent and date haven’t been announced.
Over the course of the second half of 2016, St. Pierre consistently intimated that he wanted to return to fighting which prompted several fighters (Tyron Woodley, Michael Bisping) to call him out in an effort to secure a “money” fight. It appeared St. Pierre’s return would happen at last December’s UFC PPV in Toronto against middleweight champion Bisping, but both sides couldn’t come to an agreement.
One of the major sticking points has been St. Pierre’s deal with Under Armour, a competitor to UFC sponsor and fightwear provider Reebok, but Helwani didn’t have any notes on that. Another issue dating back to when St. Pierre was an active competitor was the company’s drug testing policies, something that would appear to be alleviated with USADA in place.
St. Pierre last fought in November 2013 at UFC 167, successfully defending his welterweight gold in a controversial split decision over Johny Hendricks.