Luke Rockhold gave Georges St. Pierre some advice yesterday and apparently just a day later, St. Pierre is heeding it. On TSN, GSP told the world that he may, in fact, be done competing in the 185-pound middleweight division in the UFC. On the show, he said, “We’ll talk about it, but I’m not sure if I compete I will go back at 185,“I don’t think so.”
In the build to his return, St. Pierre alluded to the fact that if he won the middleweight title from Michael Bisping, he would relish the opportunity to unify the belts in that division by fighting the interim champion, Robert Whittaker. These remarks all but kill the possibility of that fight coming to fruition. St. Pierre went more in-depth on TSN by saying, “Of course, in terms of weight, if I want to go back to compete at 185, I will – obviously eating, like I did what I did, I learned from my mistakes, I don’t think it’s a good thing to do, force myself to eat to gain muscle mass,” “I’ve always been against performance-enhancing drugs, and I did it the natural way. There is no easy way. I did it the hard way and it was to gain weight and to maintain my muscles mass and it was very hard and it was not healthy. I think the body has a natural weight it can perform at its best athletic ability and for me, the weight that I am now is my perfect weight.” St. Pierre is a UFC legend and multi-time UFC champion in the welterweight division. As for the middleweight title, Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting has reported that early contract discussions for Whittaker vs. Rockhold at UFC 221 have started. At this time, it’s not confirmed as to whether or not that fight would be for the interim title or the undisputed title in the middleweight division.
Heydorn’s Analysis: Well, clearly I was wrong. If you would have asked me 24 hours ago, I was certain that GSP would have at least one more fight at 185. That said, with him essentially confirming that he won’t be fighting in the middleweight division again, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It straight up baffles me that GSP was allowed to return under the circumstances that he did. If he is so comfortable at his typical weight, why not just return there? With this admission, the entire saga seems even more produced than it did when the GSP return started.
WEDNESDAY NEWS NOTEBOOK
–Francis Ngannou’s dream opponent is Brock Lesnar. At UFC 218, Ngannou firmly cemented himself as the number one challenger for Stipe Miocic’s UFC heavyweight championship with a vicious knockout of UFC mainstay, Alistair Overeem. While that title fight is at the forefront of his mind, Ngannou revealed to the Top Turtle Podcast that his dream opponent is none other than WWE Universal Champion and former UFC heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar. On the show, Ngannou said, “I’d always like to see the match between me and Brock Lesnar.” “Two big dudes. I like that matchup. I’m excited for that kind of match as a fan. … I want to see that match.” He continued by saying, “He’s big.” “Huge, as you say. But he’s not stronger than me. I’m stronger than him. I’m the best striker in the heavyweight division and the more powerful guy. I’m also a talented guy and I will deal with that very easy.”
Heydorn’s Analysis: Yes, please. I would gladly shell out $75 for this fight. Ngannou vs. Lesnar is a dream match now more than ever. Certainly, Ngannou would be the favorite for it and the fight itself would do wonders in terms of establishing the heavyweight division as an “it” division for UFC. Once Ngannou takes care of business with Stipe, I’m looking at this fight if I’m Dana White.
–Michael Bisping admits his mistake in taking the Gastelum fight. On his podcast, Believe You Me, Michael Bisping admitted that fighting Kelvin Gastelum so soon after losing to Georges St. Pierre was a bad idea. On his show, he stated, “It didn’t go my way, as everybody knows and saw.” “I felt great going into that fight, I did. Looking back in hindsight, was I overtrained and emotionally and physically tired? Yes I was, but the problem with having a f**king huge ego and thinking you can still beat people is that I knew that but I still thought I could beat Kelvin Gastelum. Not taking anything away from him. He caught me with a beautiful left hook that put me down. God bless him.” “It was a big gamble, it didn’t pay off. Had it paid off it would have been great but that’s what you do. You roll the dice, you give it a shot, and you hope for the best, and the best man, I guess that was Kelvin so well done to him.”
Heydorn’s Analysis: Well, at least he can admit it now. The sad thing about this is someone should have made that decision for him before he was pasted and unconscious in the middle of the octagon. As I’ve said, the UFC should not have allowed this fight to happen and Bisping gives great detail as to why.
–Julian Erosa is looking to capture his fifth CageSport championship at CageSport 48. CageSport 48 is on Saturday, December, 16th with the main event of Julian Erosa vs. Bryan Nuro for the vacant lightweight title.
–Sarah Kaufman will make her return to Invicta FC. Ariel Helwani is reporting that Kaufman will headline the upcoming January 13th Invicta FC event in Kansas City, MO. At this time her opponent is unknown.
***
Contact Zack at heydornzack@gmail.com and follow Zack on Twitter at https://twitter.com/zheydorn
NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS NEWS: TUESDAY NEWS DIGEST 12/5: Luke Rockhold dismisses Georges St. Pierre as a fighter in the middleweight division and positions himself for a title fight against the “real” champion, Robert Whittaker (w/ Heydorn’s analysis)
Leave a Reply