Examining Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217
In 2013, Georges St-Pierre left the UFC on a decline. He passed 30, suffered knee injuries, lost a bit of speed, and started getting hit more frequently. The last fighting memory of St-Pierre, one of the three greatest fighters in UFC history, is of him winning a fight he should have lost.
Whether or not he was correct in his diagnosis of mental burnout as the root cause of his decline, St-Pierre was astute in his decision to walk away. Every fighter dreams of walking away on top; every champion talks about retiring with a belt strapped around their waist. St-Pierre was the only one to actually follow through with it on his own accord.
Exactly why St-Pierre is returning four years on in a weight class 15-pounds above the division he once dominated is open to interpretation. He had declined to move up while in his prime to fight Anderson Silva in the ultimate clash of UFC superpowers. The most commonly held belief is that St-Pierre sees middleweight champion Michael Bisping as beatable, probably more easily beatable than welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
Compared to the level of his top contenders, Bisping is one of the weakest champions in UFC history. In his only title defense, Bisping barely escaped with a victory against determined 46-year-old Dan Henderson. He'd play the underdog role against no fewer than six of his top challengers.
St-Pierre's four-year absence and weight disadvantage have weighed on oddsmakers and bettors, but not enough to sway the odds in Bisping's favor. As it stands, St-Pierre is the slightest of betting favorites. That is a testament to St-Pierre's greatness in his prime, but also to a lack of respect for Bisping. What
St-Pierre is attempting has no exact precedent in combat sports. Fighters don't have the luxury to take years off to age and return at their best against a top fighter. Muhammad Ali did not pick up where he left off when he returned to the ring from a forced three-year sabbatical in 1970. Sugar Ray Leonard had had one fight in the five years before he fought Marvin Hagler. Dominick Cruz had one fight in four years before regaining the bantamweight title from TJ Dillashaw. Brock Lesnar got back in the cage after a four-and-a half year retirement to beat Mark Hunt last year, but it was later revealed he had failed a drug test prior to the fight.
Ali was 28 when he returned against Jerry Quarry in 1970. Leonard was 30 when he fought Hagler. Cruz was 30 against Dillashaw. St-Pierre will fight Bisping at 36-years-old.
Even if ring rust is a mental condition as Dominick Cruz insisted leading into his triumphant return, and even if St-Pierre's mind is equipped to overcome that, age is not a mental condition. Wear and tear, particularly on the knees, from years of martial arts is not a mental condition.
Technology has evolved. The science of athletic conditioning has made significant advances. Promotional videos show St-Pierre on the cutting edge, a modern day Ivan Drago with a high tech machine to improve his reaction time. But Georges St-Pierre is not the sole beneficiary of these changes; he returns to a changed sport with a fleet of those beneficiaries ready to make their name by taking out the great GSP.
But fighters always chase the light at the end of the tunnel, even when it disappears from view and exists only in theory. St-Pierre is chasing a brighter light. The chase begins – and may well end – Saturday night in Madison Square Garden against Michael Bisping.