The long awaited return of Georges St-Pierre to the UFC finally has an official date: November 4th at Madison Square Garden in New York City. That’s UFC 217, and a bout between Georges and Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title will headline the card. The Canadian legend and former welterweight champion made the news official on his Instagram, posing with a copy of his signed bout agreement.
The moment marks the end of months of speculation and denials from the UFC regarding the fight, which was originally announced in March and then scrapped after GSP revealed an eye injury that would keep him from returning until the fall. The UFC moved on and tried to set up Bisping vs. Robert Whittaker for the 185 pound belt and Georges St-Pierre vs. Tyron Woodley for the 170 pound belt. But a knee injury to Whittaker and a stinker of a fight from Woodley pushed UFC president Dana White to give St-Pierre and Bisping the fight they both wanted against each other.
It’s looking like UFC 217 is going to be the next big supercard for the promotion. In addition to GSP vs. Bisping, rumored matches for the card include Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw for the bantamweight title and Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas for the women’s flyweight title. That’s three titles on the line, a recipe that worked so well for the recent UFC 214 card’s sales that the promotion will repeat it for their next visit to New York City.
