UFC 217 PPV Buys Estimate, GSP Hints At Welterweight Return After Defeating Michael Bisping

With many MMA pundits reporting that fans have forgotten about Georges St-Pierre, the Canadian superstar returns with a blockbuster gate and huge PPV buys as he captures the UFC Middleweight title after four years away from the sport.

In the UFC 217 press conference, Dana White said that the estimated PPV for UFC 217 blew past 1 million buys, according to Bloody Elbow. The UFC president stated, “I told some of you that this will do a million, I was way wrong it did way over a million.”

While the PPV is still being counted, White states that the event “destroyed” it.

Early estimates for UFC 217 where about 700,000 buys. However, it seems like the estimates were off. The gate was $6.2 million and the attendance 18,201, not far behind Conor McGregor’s UFC 205 title capture where 20,427 fans attended.

Some fans and MMA analysts are calling UFC 217 the best card ever as all the champions were defeated in the shocking main card. White stated that he is interested in returning to Montreal with GSP back in the sport.

Dana White also alluded to the star power of GSP in his home country as more people in Canada tuned in for his return to the octagon than the Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor blockbuster boxing match.

GSP alluded to returning to the Welterweight division in his post-fight interview as he talked about the difficulty carrying more weight. The Middleweight champion seemed slower than his usual self, according to the interim Middleweight champ Robert Whitiker, who was at the event.

GSP stated that it was in his contract to defend the Middleweight belt. Therefore, it will likely be up to the UFC whether he goes down to challenge Tyron Woodley or meet Conor McGregor in a super fight at Welterweight. Robert Whitaker stated that he will wait for his dream fight with GSP.

Georges St-Pierre was one of the first fighters to push for a cleaner sport before leaving four years ago as champion. He returns in the USADA era and submits Michael Bisping in the third round.

What do you think is next for GSP?

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[Featured Image by Mike Stobe/Getty Images]