UFC interim champ Robert Whittaker picked Michael Bisping, will wait for Georges St-Pierre

NEW YORK CITY – UFC interim middleweight champ Robert Whittaker favored Michael Bisping to beat Georges St-Pierre in the pay-per-view headliner of Saturday’s UFC 217.

But Whittaker (19-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) didn’t count out St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC), which turned out to be a good call when the former welterweight champ choked out Bisping (30-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) at Madison Square Garden.

Even with the uncertainty then looming over his future, Whittaker, who recently returned to training after a knee injury, couldn’t get too wrapped up in the outcome of the fight. More important was simply that the winner meet him.

“If they want to keep busy and bash themselves, good on you,” Whittaker said backstage. “Make a bit of money in the process. But I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to outlive you guys, so I’m just going to wait for the winner.”

As UFC President Dana White said after the pay-per-view event, St-Pierre vs. Whittaker is a “done deal.” That takes the guesswork out of things for Whittaker, but the question is where and when the fight takes place.

Whittaker would love it if the promotion booked them for UFC 221, which takes place Feb. 18 at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. But he’s willing to travel if it’s necessary.

“The things is, I’ll just have to make sure I’m ready to fight when they’re ready to fight and fight them,” Whittaker said. “I’m not worried where it is, when it is – I just want to find out who it is.”

Now that he has his answer, the wait for the details just got a lot shorter.

For complete coverage of UFC 217, check out the UFC Events section of the site.