Georges St Pierre to face Michael Bisping for middleweight title
Photo credit: Huffington Post
<p>Georges St. Pierre is officially back, and this time he has an opponent.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, UFC president Dana White <a href="http://www.ufc.com/news/st-pierre-vs-bisping-press-conference">announced</a> on SportsCenter that St. Pierre will be facing Michael Bisping for the middleweight title sometime in the second half of 2017. Both fighters will appear at a press conference in Las Vegas on Friday where more details will be discussed. As of now, an exact date and venue have not been confirmed.</p>
<p>Due to USADA’s regulations, St. Pierre is required to undergo four months of PED-testing before being allowed to compete, which is why the bout will take place later in the year.</p>
<p>The former welterweight champion was re-signed by the UFC mid-February following several months of failed negotiations and Bisping was high on the list of potential opponents.</p>
<p>St. Pierre (25-2) last fought at UFC 167 in 2013 where he won a controversial split-decision over Johny Hendricks, after which he announced he would be taking time off from the sport. Prior to his retirement, he had defended the 170-lb title nine consecutive times which includes wins over BJ Penn, Josh Koscheck, Carlos Condit, and Nick Diaz.</p>
<p>Bisping (30-7) won the middleweight title at UFC 199 where he knocked out Luke Rockhold in the opening round. He followed that up with a unanimous decision victory over Dan Henderson at UFC 204 in October.</p>
Jamal Khayat is a writer for RoughCopy MMA. He began his training in combat sports in 2009 and has competed as an amateur in both MMA and boxing. He is currently pursuing a B.S. degree in Physics at the University of Central Florida.
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