GSP references possible return at MSG
GSP: “I could be fighting here in a few months…Can’t wait!”
UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping won the title at UFC 199 on 4 June 2016. He successfully defended it vs. Dan Henderson just four months later on 8 October. It has now been five months and while the opponent has been named, Georges St-Pierre, there is no date set. The natives are getting restless.
Late in March on his Believe You Me podcast, Bisping said St-Pierre had to commit to a date or the title shot could go elsewhere.
“I call the shots,” said the champ. “Without sounding like an a**hole, it’s my belt. I’m the champion and I’m not willing to sit around until September or October.”
UFC president Dana White has said the ideal date would be UFC 213 on July 8. That event is to be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
GSP recently attended an NHL playoff game between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden. And he indicated that his next fight could be at MSG.
“I could be fighting here in a few months,” tweeted St-Pierre. “Can’t wait!”
https://twitter.com/GeorgesStPierre/status/859557002300841984
GSP is only coming back for a PPV. The UFC has a number of PPV events scheduled:
UFC 211: Miocic vs. dos Santos • 2 May 13, 2017 • American Airlines Center Dallas, Texas.
UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway • Jun 3, 2017 • Jeunesse Arena Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
UFC 213 • Jul 8, 2017 • T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC 214 • Jul 29, 2017 • Honda Center Anaheim, California
UFC 215 • UNKNOWN
UFC 216 • Sep 9, 2017 • Rogers Place Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
UFC 217 • Ariel Helwani said the UFC could be returning to MSG in November:
https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/859588256207384576
UFC 217 would be six months from now, a little outside the “few months” GSP referenced. And Bisping was adamant that he didn’t want to wait until September or October. The MSG show might be pushed up to August. But MSG already has events booked for August 5, 12, and 19, leaving the 26th as the sole open date. But with another PPV booked just two weeks later, that seems a little close. So GSP’s return remains a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.