Josh Nason’s Punch-Out returns for another new episode with an hour-long conversation with returning guest Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com.
On the topic board:
– What’s next for Georges St-Pierre, Rose Namajunas, and TJ Dillashaw following their title victories at UFC 217?
– Is GSP now officially a moneyweight fighter along with Conor McGregor and if so, does that make a clash between them inevitable?
– Is Joanna Non-Champion right about Rose not being able to handle the pressure of being a champion?
– This weekend’s fun-looking UFC Norfolk card which is chock full of crossroads fights (Matt Brown vs. Diego Sanchez, Joe Lauzon vs. Clay Guida), a favorite of yours truly.
– Marc’s experiences at PWG walking around the one and only Dave Meltzer and how he got to be a pro wrestling fan to begin with
– What fights is Marc looking forward to most the rest of 2017? (Spoiler: one is already off due to injury.)
Listen to all that and more on the latest JNPO now:
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
UFC 217 is a big one Saturday night as UFC returns to New York City’s Madison Square Garden with a main event of middleweight champion Michael Bisping vs. former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, returning to action in a new weight class after four years of inactivity.
In the night’s co-main event, heated rivals Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw will meet for Garbrandt’s bantamweight title while women’s strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk puts her title up against Rose Namajunas.
In another key main card fight, Stephen Thompson, fresh off two unsuccessful title challenges against Tyron Woodley, squares off with Jorge Masvidal in a pivotal welterweight matchup.
The last fight our panel will be picking a winner for is the featured FS1 prelim bout between lightweights James Vick and “Irish” Joe Duffy.
If you’re new here, our panel picks are listed below and listed alongside the fighter’s names are their worldwide FightMatrix rankings, as well as BestFightOdds.com betting odds. The panelist’s 2017 records is in parentheses in addition to panel consensus picks as well as a line where we show how the betting favorites did:
Dave Meltzer (49-21; .700) — Wrestling Observer publisher
Tom Lawlor (21-11; .636) – Co-host Filthy Four Daily; pro wrestling undercard fighter; UFC enhancement talent currently suspended due to wellness violation
Mike Sempervive (44-26; .629) — Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Steve Juon (44-26; .629) — MMA Mania writer, Angry Marks publisher
Mike Sawyer (44-26; .629) — Tough Talk MMA publisher
Ryan Frederick (40-30; .571) — WrestlingObserver.com UFC writer
Paul Fontaine (38-32; .543) — MMADraws.com publisher, WrestlingObserver.com writer
Front Row Brian (38-32; .543) — MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, podcast host
> UFC Middlweight Champion Michael Bisping (30-7) vs Georges St Pierre (25-2)
Most of the focus has been on the return of GSP after a long layoff. Since being beaten by Matt Serra in one of the greatest upsets of all time, he hasn’t lost in over 10 years. We last saw him edge out Johny Hendricks by decision at UFC 167 (2013), a controversial result that was followed up by him feuding with Dana White over his announcement of taking time off.
He’s also never faced anyone even close to the size of Bisping, who won The Ultimate Fighter and several UFC bouts at light heavyweight. Bisping has won five straight en route, including wins over former champs Anderson Silva and Luke Rockhold as well as the legendary Dan Henderson in his last title defense.
The big question: can GSP’s wrestling ability and presumed speed advantage overcome the speed and boxing ability of Bisping? The other big question for those interested in UFC business is whether lapsed fans will return to see the former face of the sport in GSP. We shall soon find out.
Garbrandt stormed his way into the title scene with three straight first round KOs before completely dominating Dominick Cruz to capture the title last December. This set up a fight with longtime rival and former training partner Dillashaw, a fight originally scheduled to happen this summer before a Garbrandt back injury postponed it.
Dillashaw is a former bantamweight champion with two title defenses before he dropped it to Cruz in January 2017. White wanted him to drop down to flyweight earlier this year to challenge Demetrious Johnson, but Johnson refused, causing a bit of a public argument between the champ and his boss.
The winner will likely face the winner of Cruz and Jimmie Rivera (December fight) as their next challenger.
> UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-0) vs Rose Namajunas (6-3)
While a win will give Joanna Champion a tie with Ronda Rousey for the most title defenses by a female UFC fighter, she is also fast approaching the men’s consecutive title defense record that was just set by the aforementioned Johnson. Should she emerge victorious on Saturday, it will be her seventh straight win in a title fight and sixth defense of her belt.
Since losing her first title challenge to Carla Esparza at the TUF 20 finale, “Thug Rose” has won four of her last five fights, including three by submission, to get another crack at the title. Most feel she will be outmatched in this one, but she has been proving people wrong for most of her career and hopes to do so again on Saturday.
Stephen Thompson (13-2-1) vs Jorge Masvidal (32-12) WELTERWEIGHTS
Thompson is fresh off 10 rounds of mostly razor-thin action with current champion Tyron Woodley. However, the last fight in particular was not something anyone is particularly interested in seeing again as they had one of the most poorly received title fights in history. An exciting win on a big stage here would go a long way to rehabbing his image in the eyes of fans.
Since moving to welterweight, Masvidal is just 3-2 but does have wins over Donald Cerrone and Jake Ellenberger. His last fight was a close split decision to Demian Maia so he’s very close to title contention. If he wins here, fans will be clamoring for him to get a title shot but he’d probably need one more quality win to earn it.
> James Vick (11-1) vs Joe Duffy (16-2) LIGHTWEIGHTS
Vick has fought most of his career bouts in UFC with a loss to the very tough Beneil Dariush being the only blemish on his record. He very nearly won the TUF 15 competition, losing to eventual champ Mike Chiesa after three prelim wins.
Signed to a new deal, Duffy is famously one of the only fighters to ever beat current divisional champ Conor McGregor. The Irish-born fighter has won four of his five UFC fights including three in the first round. His only loss was to hard-hitting Dustin Poirier in his toughest UFC matchup to date.
In a crowded division of contenders, neither of these two are getting a title shot any time soon but more high-profile fights will come for the winner of this one.
> Johny Hendricks (18-7) vs Paulo Henrique da Costa (10-0) — Main Card MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Hendricks #20; +248 betting underdog
Costa #65; -270 betting favorite
> Mark Godbeer (12-3) vs Walt Harris (10-6) HEAVYWEIGHTS
Godbeer #71; +310 betting underdog
Harris #48; -340 betting favorite
> Ovince St Preux (21-10) vs Corey Anderson (9-3) LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
St Preux #11; -141 betting favorite
Anderson #15; +130 betting underdog
> Mickey Gall (4-0) vs Randy Brown (9-2) WELTERWEIGHTS
Gall #212; -105 betting favorite
Brown #123; +105 betting underdog
> Curtis Blaydes (7-1) vs Oleksiy Oliynyk (55-10-1) HEAVYWEIGHTS
Blaydes #32; -330 betting favorite
Oliynyk #10; +300 betting underdog
Aiemann Zahabi (7-0) vs Ricardo Ramos (10-1) BANTAMWEIGHTS
Zahabi #117; +185 betting underdog
Ramos #54; -185 betting favorite
Action begins with the Fight Pass prelims at 6:30 PM EST and moves over to FS1 at 8 PM EST. The main card airs on PPV at 10 PM EST, and our own Ryan Frederick will have play by play coverage of the show.
Josh Nason’s Punch-Out returns this week with a show centered around Saturday’s UFC 217 and some of the questions we all hope to have answered coming out of it
Joining yours truly this week is first-time guest Ryan McKinnell of SiriusXM Rush 93, FanSided, Yahoo, and SI.com.
A few of the topics on the board:
– Ryan goes into his background and how he got to SiriusXM where he hosts the UFC 217 pre and post show this Saturday
– Whether he believes the talk about Georges St-Pierre’s relevancy going into this event is misguided or legit
– Some rants and raves about Jorge Masvidal’s gay slur to Michael Bisping and fighter talk in general
– Thoughts on the show as a whole and what we’re looking forward to, especially Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw
– Who we think will hold the keys to the future of the welterweight division
Even though they aren’t fighting at Saturday’s UFC 217, middleweight champion Michael Bisping and welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal got into a verbal confrontation waiting for elevators, marred by a gay slur uttered by Masvidal.
Captured on video below, you’ll see the two arguing profanely back and forth with Bisping saying Masvidal is “trash” and that he’ll lose Saturday. Masvidal responds in kind and as Bisping gets onto the elevator, you hear Masvidal clearly say “f*ggot” to him.
The two have had heat stemming from a confrontation prior to UFC 213 earlier this year.
This comes a day after UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor apologized for his own gay slur slip up after teammate Artem Lobov lost at UFC Gdasnk and just over a month after heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum apologized for a similar comment to now-interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson at a press event.
On Saturday in New York City, Bisping is scheduled to defend the title against the returning Georges St. Pierre in the main event while Masvidal is scheduled to face Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson on the main card.
