Georges St-Pierre hints UFC comeback fight with Michael Bisping could take place in New York

Could Georges St-Pierre’s long-awaited UFC comeback take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City? The former longtime UFC champ hinted on Tuesday that may be the case.

After a more than three-year hiatus from the sport, St-Pierre’s (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) return was made official in early March, when it was announced “Rush” would jump up a weight class from his career-long home at welterweight to challenge UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) later this year.

A press conference was held in which the verbal warfare between St-Pierre and Bisping got off to a hot start, but unfortunately, no date or location for the 185-pound matchup was made official. Since then, Bisping has consistently questioned when the fight would happen, even threatening to take away St-Pierre’s title shot and give it to rightful No. 1 contender Yoel Romero.

In recent weeks, there have been no developments. UFC President Dana White has said the company wants the fight to headline July’s International Fight Week UFC 213 pay-per-view, but that time frame reportedly doesn’t mesh with St-Pierre’s schedule.

St-Pierre said from the outset that late 2017 would be most realistic for him, and with the UFC rumored for a fall return to New York after making its Madison Square Garden debut this past November, perhaps that’s when the fight could finally unfold.

Big thanks to @NYRangers and #mvpgroupintl for inviting me and @Erik_Owings at @TheGarden for the game tonight! I could be fighting here in a few months… Can’t wait!!!

A post shared by Georges St-Pierre (@georgesstpierre) on May 2, 2017 at 4:46pm PDT

Although UFC boss White stated in the past that Las Vegas would be the most logical destination for the St-Pierre vs. Bisping fight, obviously New York is a prominent option, as well.

St-Pierre has plenty of ties to the area, too, not only because one of his primary coaches, Renzo Gracie, owns a gym in the city, but also because St-Pierre’s hometown of Montreal is a just a short trip north.

For now, though, nothing is official, meaning fans – and the UFC middleweight division – will have to continue to wait patiently for more concrete information.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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