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Michael Bisping Vs. Georges St-Pierre: Big Update On Planned ‘UFC 206’ Fight

By Lorenzo Tanos
Published on: 15:58 PST, Oct 26, 2016

For a lot of fight fans, Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre at UFC 206 would be a dream match. If the match pushes forward, this would mark a battle between the brash reigning middleweight champion and a former UFC welterweight champ who’s widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts history. Considering the fact that Bisping recently beat Dan Henderson at UFC 204 in his retirement match, and that “The Count” dispatched of another legend, Anderson Silva, in their titular UFC Fight Night encounter in February, does he have what it takes to ruin St-Pierre’s potential comeback?

While Bisping has already called out GSP via Twitter, challenging the Canadian legend to come out of his hiatus and face him at UFC 206, the latest updates on the planned fight suggest Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre is still far from official. But it doesn’t appear to be due to a lack of effort or desire on St-Pierre’s part.

Figure Four Online reported that Georges St-Pierre released a video on Wednesday, where he said he has recently been in talks with UFC owner Ari Emanuel and President Dana White. And the good news is that GSP has reportedly “made peace” with White. This is a very positive development, taking into account how St-Pierre had been at odds with UFC management since hinting at retirement toward the end of 2013.

GSP’s last mixed martial arts fight took place in November 2013, when he won a highly controversial match against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. St-Pierre won that match via split decision, despite being the superior fighter in the eyes of many fans and MMA journalists.

As for the odds of Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre facing off at UFC 206, they remain speculative at best. According to GSP, both he and the UFC remain stalemated in negotiations, though St-Pierre is hopeful that “things will change soon.”

The main question surrounding the potential UFC 206 superfight doesn’t appear to be a case of whether Georges St-Pierre wants to return to UFC. As it was just a quick, 18-second video response to Michael Bisping’s Twitter posts and challenges, St-Pierre didn’t elaborate on the reasons why he and UFC are still deadlocked. He had been on the outs with White and then-UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta since his late-2013 “retirement” tease, as he didn’t tell either man that he was considering leaving mixed martial arts after his controversial UFC 167 win. And while he and White are now in good terms, the specifics of their talk weren’t touched on either.

According to Figure Four Online, the reasons for the GSP/UFC impasse ahead of the potential Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre fight may be related to endorsements:

“The prevailing thought is that St-Pierre’s deal with Under Armour is conflicting with the UFC’s exclusive Reebok deal, raising contractual issues over compensation. Recently, St-Pierre told (MMA journalist) Ariel Helwani he was a free agent due to a contract clause, but the UFC shot that down the next day.”

Meanwhile, UFC 206, which is scheduled to take place on December 10 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, has just gotten a couple matches added to a card that still remains very much subject to change. Most notably, a featherweight match between Max Holloway and former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis was added on Wednesday, serving as the second-highest-profile match on a card that will be headlined by Daniel Cormier defending his light heavyweight belt against Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

But will that already-promising card have the quotable British middleweight champ in what could be his highest-profile, most interesting fight yet? Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre, if it becomes a reality, should be something to watch for in December, provided the stalemate between GSP and UFC is broken once and for all.

[Featured Image by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images]

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