I didn’t want Georges St-Pierre to come back. I’ve written a bit about why that was, specifically, over the past few years so I won’t bore you by repeating those details.
Essentially, I was happy that the all-time great had managed to end a long combat career, rich, and with a lot of his health intact. I didn’t want to see any of that endangered, especially since St-Pierre’s competitive legacy is secure.
Alas, Rush is coming back and will fight again. So long as he is, I’m at least happy with the fight he’s reportedly coming back for – a middleweight title challenge against Michael Bisping.
St-Pierre’s stature warrants that any return fight be significant, historic even. Moving up in weight to vie for a world title in a second division is certainly that.
At the same time, St-Pierre’s relatively advanced age and concerns over his health considering how much damage he’s taken in his past few fights warrants respecting. So, from his perspective match ups needed to be delicately selected to account for both a need for importance and excitement, and consideration for his health.
No one can say fighting Michael Bisping is good for someone’s health, of course. Still, at least The Count doesn’t have the size of some of the other top middleweights like Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold, and even Yoel Romero (if we’re talking width).
In large part because they are not so far apart in size and age, St-Pierre vs. Bisping is a winnable fight for both men. Furthermore, whoever wins will substantially increase their accomplishments with a win.
If St-Pierre wins he’ll be one of the few fighters in MMA history to have won a true world title at multiple weight classes. If Bisping wins, he’ll have beaten one of the best and most dominant fighters ever.
Beyond that, both men wanted this fight. That is to say, they’re hungry to fight one another, and that’s never a bad thing.
So, what we’re left with is a historic fight, a competitive one, and a very marketable and sellable one because both athletes are huge international stars.
Unless your name is Jacare Souza or Yoel Romero, you don’t have much to complain about, here.
About the author:
Elias Cepeda has served as a writer and editor covering mixed martial arts and combat sports, as well as public and cultural affairs, since 2005. He began as a staff writer for InsideFighting, and not long thereafter became publisher and editor of the page. Cepeda then went to write for Yahoo! Sports’ boxing and MMA pages, and edited their Cagewriter blog. He was hired away by FOX Sports, but after several years departed over philosophical differences with the executive leadership around important issues of journalism ethics. A student of and sometime competitor in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA since 1999, Elias brings a unique and vibrant presence to reporting, and enjoys trying to highlight shared humanity and connect common experiences from seemingly different worlds.
