Bisping vs. GSP press con live stream 5:00 p.m. ET
Michael Bisping and GSP will face off at a press conference live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 5:00 p.m. ET today.
On March 1st, UFC president Dana White appeared on ESPN SportsCenter and announced that George St-Pierre will fight Michael Bisping for the middleweight title.
Shortly after winning a grueling split decision over Johny Hendricks, GSP announced a temporary retirement, and gave up his belt, citing the need to rest. He later expanded that to include concerns about doping in the league, among other points. St-Pierre, the welterweight G.O.A.T., has not fought since 2013.
However, on July 1, 2015, the UFC instituted what is arguably the toughest anti-doping program in the sports world. In time negotiations for the return of GSP commenced but apparently broke down over apparel sponsorship. The UFC is wedded to Reebok, and GSP has a deal with UnderArmor. At one point things got so bad St-Pierre reported that he was a free agent, which the UFC firmly denied. By October, UFC president Dana White said the relationship between the two had never been better.
During St-Pierre’s absence, Michael Bisping has gone 5-0. He decisioned C.B. Dollaway, then split decisioned Thales Leites, then decisioned an aging Anderson Silva in the fight of the night. That earned him a shot at Luke Rockhold, who got cocky, and KOed in the first. For his first title defense, Bisping got a rematch vs. Dan Henderson. Their first fight ended for Hendo, with the most famous KO in UFC history. The rematch went to Bisping.
A four-man middleweight tournament was undertaken to determine the #1 contender. After some confusion, Yoel Romero emerged and bickered with Bisping on the social network. However, his spot is now taken by St-Pierre. That said no date and place have been announced.
The two will face off at a press conference live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at 5 p.m. ET today.
Hopefully, further significant details will emerge today.