THURSDAY NEWS DIGEST 10/27: George St. Pierre replies to Michael Bisping challenge, says has talked more with UFC (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)

No big fights this weekend, but there is an RFA show Friday night on AXS TV. Watch Middleweight Title challenger Chase Waldon in this 2013 fight against Garrett Olson.

Hours after Michael Bisping went public with claims that he had verbally agreed to a UFC 206 fight with self-declared free agent Georges St-Pierre, GSP took to Twitter himself to clarify where things stand from his side.

The Georges St-Pierre-UFC roller coaster moves along as well.

Hiscoe’s Analysis: There’s nothing about the video that feels like St-Pierre is grandstanding or using it as a negotiation tactic. The video comes off as if he had a moment where he decided he wanted to set the record straight so he filmed it, posted it, and moved on. GSP didn’t confirm or deny that a Bisping fight was on the table, but he did confirm that he had met with UFC last week. This comes after he was spotted in Las Vegas a week ago, but claimed he was only “hanging out.” This video doesn’t change much in terms of how close I feel GSP and UFC are to a deal, but it is encouraging that a dialogue is open and that both sides aren’t just digging their heels in preparing for a lawsuit. Bisping has been quiet on Twitter regarding the matter since this video came out so perhaps he sees that it’s not as close to happening as he believed and that GSP isn’t going to be taunted into signing a new deal prematurely.

THURSDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…

-Urijah Faber softly backtracked on his pending retirement after his fight with Brad Pickett on Dec. 17, telling TMZSports.com. “I’d never put extreme limits on myself,” he said. “I would never say, ‘this is it, this is it.’ I mean, somebody might really piss me off and there might be a golden opportunity. You never know.”

-Fabricio Werdum made waves this week with an Instagram post featuring Werdum wearing the typical Reebok “fight kit” only with a Nike logo photoshopped in place of the Reebok logo. Werdum used a series of hashtags in Portuguese that translated to “Suck my balls, Reebok.” Werdum later went on Facebook Live and cleared up that he is not sponsored with Nike, but was making a statement that fighters should speak up and not promote a company’s products for little or no money.

–Scott Coker confirmed that Bellator is looking to do a show in New York at either Madison Square Garden or Brooklyn’s Barclays Center sometime in 2017.

-Shane Carwin has officially signed with Rizin and will be part of their heavyweight tournament that begins on Dec. 29 in Japan.

-After asking for and being granted his release from UFC recently, Tatsuya Kawajiri has also signed with Rizin.

-Kayla Harrison, who holds two Olympic gold medals in Judo, has signed with World Series of Fighting according to USA Today Sports. She’s looking to do a year of training before her first fight.

-Lyman Good is steadfastly denying use of any banned substance after being provisionally suspended for a USADA anti-doping violation earlier this week.  “I’d NEVER cheat the journey of hard work,” he told MMA Fighting. “And more importantly I’d NEVER cheat myself.”

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ROUNDUP

-Brandon Moreno vs. Ryan Benoit at the TUF 24 Finale on Dec. 3 from Las Vegas.

-Anthony Pettis vs. Max Holloway at UFC 206 on Dec. 10 from Toronto.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

No big fights this weekend, but there is an RFA show Friday night on AXS TV. Watch Middleweight Title challenger Chase Waldon in this 2013 fight against Garrett Olson.