FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE 5/5: GSP says he will be ready to fight “any time after October,” Iaquinta asks for release, Cerrone, Silva (w/Henry’s Analysis)

By Cole Henry, MMATorch contributor

Michael Bisping (art credit Grant Gould © MMATorch)

The Michael Bisping-Georges St. Pierre saga continues…

After announcing that former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre would be returning to action against UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping, he stated that he thought July would be a good time for the fight. Michael Bisping has stated that he would like for the fight to happen by July or August, and specifically said that he didn’t want to wait until September or October, and even threatened to take a different fight if GSP wouldn’t cave to his demand. It appears as though St. Pierre intends to call the bluff…

Today on his Instagram account St. Pierre posted a video stating that he would clear his schedule, and begin his training camp after the summer, and be ready to fight any time after October. This will probably be less than well-received by Bisping, and could perhaps lead to a Bisping defense in the late summer against an opponent other than GSP.

Henry’s Analysis: This obviously isn’t what Bisping wants to hear, but I still doubt that we see him fight anybody other than GSP. He’s always had a loud mouth, and I predict that it will be extra loud over the next few months, but still I think he will wait out the big money fight with St. Pierre, and the divisions other contenders will just have to be content with sitting or taking fights against other fighters in the pecking order until the log jam clears. I’m interested in seeing Bisping-GSP, but I think Bisping-Whitaker is a good match up, and I personally wish they would make that fight, and St. Pierre could perhaps fight the winner towards the end of the year.

Al Iaquinta requests release from UFC

Even on the calmest of days, somewhere Al Iaquinta is raging. Following a meltdown on Twitter where he called out everybody under the sun, “cut” Sage Northcutt, and made fun of a Dana White magazine cover, Raging Al has now asked for his release from the UFC, and he isn’t being nice about it. Just days after his return to the promotion with a knockout over Diego Sanchez, it seems that the New Yorker is anything but happy with his position in the company. He tweeted his release request to the UFC this morning and, while I highly doubt anything comes of it, it is certainly another entertaining move by Iaquinta, who is quickly becoming one of the more interesting fighters to follow.

Donald Cerrone in “time out”

While he has since been booked to compete at UFC 213 against former Welterweight kingpin Robbie Lawler, Donald Cerrone mentioned that Dana White put him in “time out,” following his Knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal. While six months isn’t a layoff for most fighters, for a guy like Cerrone, it’s an eternity. It’s interesting that Dana White was the reason behind the layoff, and not an injury or something of that nature.

Ricardo Abreu gets four-year suspension

Despite his retirement following the announcement of his second failed drug test, USADA has still announced that Ricardo Abreu is now facing a four-year suspension, which wouldn’t even begin until his initial suspension from the first test ended. Because of his retirement, the suspension will simply linger until he comes out of retirement, in which case it would then begin. Despite all of this, the fighter is in high spirits, stating that the drug he failed for aided in curing his depression.

Bigfoot Silva back on TRT

Former UFC Heavyweight title challenger Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva announced that he has begun TRT again, and will be on it when he returns to action June 2 against Vitaly Minakov. Silva is notable as it has been stated on numerous occasions that he is one of the few fighters who actually needed an exemption, and truly suffered when it was banned from the sport. In an interview with MMAfighting, Silva mentioned that he has been able to recover better from training since starting TRT again and just has more energy overall.

Henry Analysis: This is such a weird thing. I know that he has claimed he truly needs it, but it’s still strange when he talks about all the benefits it has for him in training. I guess we will see if it helps him, because with just one win in his last nine fights, he really needs a win here if he wants to ever be taken seriously again. A win would be huge, but Minakov is a tall mountain to climb.

MMA WEEKEND SCHEDULE

•Victory Fighting Championship will hold an event tonight featuring two title fights, including a Heavyweight Title fight Daniel James and Daniel Gallemore, and a Flyweight Title fight between Nick Mamalis and Kevin Gray. The event will air live on UFC Fight Pass.

•Legacy Fighting Alliance has an event airing on AXS TV featuring a main event between Matthew Frincu and Maicon Mendonca and a separate bout between undefeated prospect James Nakashima and former Bellator fighter, LaRue Bailey

•Cage Warriors will return Saturday evening with their 83rd event, featuring a fight between Lewis Long and former UFC fighter Che Mills.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ROUND-UP

Charlie Ward vs. Galore Bofando announced for UFC Fight Night 113

Cris Cyborg vs. Megan Anderson rumored for UFC 214 (This is an interesting fight, but it leaves me wondering why Germaine De Randemaine isn’t defending her belt.)

Gerald Meerschaert vs. Thiago Santos at UFC 213

Chris Wade vs. Frankie Perez in Ring of Combat rematch at UFC on FOX 25

Danny Roberts vs. Bobby Nash announced for UFC Fight Night 113

Kevin “Baby Slice” Ferguson Jr. vs. D.J. Griffin at Bellator 179

Paul Felder vs. Stevie Ray announced for UFC Fight Night 113


NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: THURSDAY NEWS DIGEST 5/4: Women’s Flyweight Division launches on 26th season of Ultimate Fighter (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)

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