Dana White: Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre title fight off, Yoel Romero gets next shot

After endless complaints from fans and middleweight contenders, UFC President Dana White claims the company has decided to call off plans for a Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre title fight later this year.

As a result, White said Yoel Romero will be next to fight “The Count” for UFC gold.

“I made this ‘GSP’ fight – we did a press conference. The thing was supposed to happen in July. Michael Bisping is going to have to defend his title now. We’re not waiting for ‘GSP,'” White told FOX Sports Australia’s UFC Fight Week. “Georges St-Pierre was coming back. Bisping-St Pierre – they both wanted that fight. We asked Yoel to step aside. He did. It doesn’t look like that fight is gonna happen now.

“(Romero) doesn’t need to voice his opinion on why he needs a title shot. He definitely deserves a title shot. He’s next in line – he’s the No.1 ranked guy in the world.

When the UFC announced in early March that former longtime welterweight champion St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) would end his nearly four-year hiatus from competition to challenge 185-pound champ Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC), the matchup was met with mixed reaction.

Not only was Romero (13-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC), No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, promised the next title shot following his knockout of Chris Weidman at UFC 205 this past November, but a number of other viable title candidates exist in No. 3 Luke Rockhold (15-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC), No. 4 Robert Whittaker (18-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and No. 6 Gegard Mousasi (42-6-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC).

The announcement of the bout between Bisping and St-Pierre was made without a date or venue attached, which is uncommon practice for the UFC. White originally said July’s UFC 213 event in Las Vegas was his desired date, but St-Pierre made it clear that was too soon to make his return.

At first, Bisping showed frustration toward the timing for the fight and even threatened to cancel the bout with “Rush” and defend his title against Romero, instead. He’s recently backed off that stance, though, and said he would wait as long as it takes for the fight to happen.

St-Pierre posted a video message earlier this week that he would be ready to fight “any time after October,” and apparently that timeframe doesn’t fly with the UFC boss.

“Georges St-Pierre is saying he will not be ready to compete now until November,” White said. “Who knows if that’s even the case? It could be next year. … So we’re not waiting for Georges St-Pierre anymore. We’re moving on with the division, and Yoel Romero will get the next shot.”

White did not indicate when or where a Bisping vs. Romero title fight would unfold, but it’s safe to assume it would occur well before November.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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