It took all of one press conference forGeorges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping to decide they really didn’t like each other. Leading up to UFC 209 in Las Vegas this Saturday, the UFC decided to bring the two out for a public press conference that almost went off the rails when Michael Bisping didn’t show up for the first 20 minutes. Fortunately, GSP was in attendance, and gave a rousing account of why he’s decided to move up from welterweight to middleweight to challenge Bisping.
“I’m always the same weight, I walk around between 185 and 190,” Georges said. “Actually, even some 155 guys are bigger than me. I’m an average sized welterweight. It’s a huge task. And fighting business is like the stock market. Sometimes guys their stock is high, sometimes their stock is low. And it’s a question of timing. When I used to fight as a welterweight I had a crazy lineup waiting for me, and I had injuries, I blew up my ACL back then. And they were waiting for me. … Right now I don’t hold the belt, no one is waiting for me. I can do whatever I want. It was the perfect timing. I wanted to make a big boom in coming back and as I said, it’s like the stock market. And right now the guy with the highest stock was Michael Bisping, and it’s the perfect timing for me to do it.”
As for what’s next in St-Pierre’s comeback plans?
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know who’s up and down, it fluctuates so fast,” St-Pierre said. “I have a general idea, a general long term goal and a general direction. I’m 36 years old. I don’t have a lot of fights left but I want to make them as big as possible, so everything I’m going to do, I’m going to do the biggest fights as possible, and I’m going to make history.”
At that moment, Michael Bisping arrived throwing swear words at GSP and claiming the UFC sent his ride to the wrong casino. Things never really calmed down from that point, with Bisping giving sarcastic retorts to all of St-Pierre’s answers and questioning his heart as a fighter.
“You are a very good fighter, Georges, I respect you very very much,” Bisping said. “But at the end of the day there’s a reason they have weight classes. It’s as simple as that. And I respect you coming back but I know why you picked me. You think I’m an easy fight. Just like Anderson Silva did. Just like Luke Rockhold did when I knocked him out in the first round. Just like everyone did. So this guy [Georges], the greatest of all time. Didn’t want to face Anderson when he was the man.But he comes out of retirement to face me. Yeah, real good fighter … It’s an easy payday. So thank you, Georges.”
As for #1 contender Yoel Romero, GSP is sorry he got pushed aside so he could jump the middleweight title line, but he’s on a hunt for big fights.
“I have an opportunity and I can’t miss it,” Georges said. “It’s the biggest fight possible that I can do right now, and that’s why I’m doing it right now. And it’s a big challenge, I don’t take nobody lightly, and I’m going to prove it the day of the fight.”
As for whether he regrets giving Michael Bisping the opportunity to fight him, considering all the ill-mannered abuse the Brit was throwing his way?
“I’m very happy. It’s not an opportunity. I’m gonna hurt him. I’m gonna hurt him real, real bad.”
