Georges St-Pierre knows he has a lot of ways to beat Michael Bisping but he’s counting on the fact that the middleweight champion only has one real weapon in his arsenal ahead of UFC 217.
In the weeks leading up to the fight, St-Pierre has stated candidly that he’s been working on adding a few new tricks to his game while also promising that he’s going to aggressively go for the finish as he competes for the 185-pound title for the first time.
St-Pierre was criticized for a big part of his previous title reign with the UFC that he often times played it safe rather than going for the kill. Now he’s confident that he can still put together a winning strategy while doing everything in his power to put Bisping away before the final bell.
Of course Bisping doesn’t buy it and has repeatedly said that he expects St-Pierre to come out in the opening round, shoot for a double leg takedown and then try to do that over and over again until the final horn sounds.
St-Pierre answered those claims on Thursday during the UFC 217 media conference call and he feels like Bisping is needling him about wrestling because he knows the only chance he has to win their fight is it stays standing.
“The problem with Michael Bisping is every interview he does, he’s begging me to stand and bang with him because that’s the only way he can win,” St-Pierre stated. “Even there, it’s not guaranteed he’s going to win.
“He’s begging me because he’s terrified that I put him down and I punch him in the face and break him down.”
Obviously, Bisping feels differently because he’s positive that St-Pierre’s only path to victory will be with his takedown heavy attacks. If St-Pierre struggles to get the fight down on the ground, Bisping feels like the former welterweight champion will go into panic mode and that’s when his world will crumble down around him.
“When you can’t take me down, pal, you’re f–ked,” Bisping said in response.
St-Pierre doesn’t seem so sure about that as he feels like whether this fight takes place on the feet or on the floor, he’s walking out of Madison Square Garden as the new UFC middleweight champion.
“I’m going to win a kickboxing match with him and I’m going to put him down when I want to put him down, whenever I want to put him down,” St-Pierre said. “It’s going to happen when I say it.”
