Bellator welterweight contender Rory MacDonald discusses Georges St-Pierre’s middleweight title fight against champion Michael Bisping.
At UFC 217 on November 4th, legendary former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will return to the Octagon to face middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Not only is it GSP’s first fight since his controversial win over Johny Hendricks in 2013, but it’s the first time he’s ever competed at 185 pounds.
Bellator’s Rory MacDonald spoke to MMAjunkie about his friend and mentor’s decision to go up a weight class at this stage in his hall-of-fame career.
“The 185 thing, I probably wouldn’t have advised it, but he is his own guy,” MacDonald said. “He has his own goals. He’s obviously very talented.
“He is the most dominant champion in welterweight, and one of the most dominant champions ever. It’s hard for me to say what’s right and wrong to a guy like that.”
The 36-year-old St-Pierre has been teasing a comeback for quite some time, and while the Bisping fight was targeted for the summer, it has since been pushed back to the fall. Fans may be curious as to how GSP will look after an extended hiatus from the sport, and whether we’ll see new wrinkles to his game. MacDonald believes it’ll just be a wait-and-see moment.
“It will be interesting to see what new skills he brings in there, or if he’s going to revert back to his natural strengths,” MacDonald said. “I’ll be watching. I hope for the best.”
MacDonald has his own title fight coming up, as he takes on reigning Bellator welterweight champ Douglas Lima on January 20th. Rory has stated his goals to capture both Bellator MMA welterweight and middleweight gold, so the Lima fight is part I of that quest.
