If you are an MMA fan, you know who Georges St Pierre is. Being the 2 time UFC Welterweight Champion with a shocking 9 straight title defenses, St.Pierre was an unstoppable force in one of the deepest and most competitive weight divisions in the sport of MMA.
After having a somewhat anti climactic end to his run in the UFC after being on the winning end of an extremely controversial decision win against a now declining phenom in Johnny Hendricks, it seemed very hard to get GSP back in the octagon.
While it has certainly took the UFC a lot of negotiation and GSP a long time to make up his mind, in the end, it has now been confirmed that after a long and tedious to and fro negotiating cold battle, the UFC and GSP have been able to come to a mutually profitable agreement.
While this is a very exciting news for MMA fans around the world, Let's not underestimate the current landscape in welterweight, middleweight or even lightweight divisions. The competition is stiffer than ever. The lack of star power may have helped GSP's return but nothing is going to be easy once he's back in the octagon.
Let's quickly take a look at GSP's potential options for a super fight marking his much awaited return.
#5 Michael Bisping
This has been a fight that has been talked about much lately, it seems as if the fact that Bisping is now the champion has made everyone entertain the possibility of any and every super fight that could possibly be made.
After facing an undeserving and old Dan Henderson for the Middleweight title earlier this year and now being able to entertain the possibility of a fight against the greatest welterweight of all time, Michael Bisping has become a living and breathing fantasy MMA character.
The prospect of having the 4th fighter to win a UFC title in two different weight divisions would be another huge feather in the cap for an already legendry St.Pierre. The UFC has already shown bias towards fighters who could make this a reality in Anthony Pettis and Holy Holm, although both of them failed to materialize this dream in their respective fights.
While imagining a showdown between a veteran in Bisping and GSP sounds like a promising affair, it is not one without hard impending consequences.
If this match comes to fruition, GSP would be jumping Jacare Souza, Yoel Romero and even a highly likely contender in Gegard Mousasi.
Not to mention the fact that he will actually need to fight one of the top contenders later which sounds like a herculean task considering the size and power disadvantage for GSP. So does this option really make sense? It is still too soon to tell.
#4 Nick/Nate Diaz
While technically it makes little sense for GSP to fight Nick Diaz again considering his absolutely dominating performance against him the last time they met in the octagon, it is sure one that would rake in the numbers for a big PPV.
It would also make less sense for UFC at this point to lose another star in Nick Diaz by making him lose to St.Pierre twice and putting him on a 4 fight losing streak, something that will only make it harder to sell him as a main event on any big PPV.
It is also highly unlikely that Nick would even take this fight since we know he already turned down a rematch against Robbie Lawler, one who matches up better with him as opposed a technical wrestling-dominant fighter in St.Pierre.
But the fact remains, it could be a huge tune up fight for GSP and if he manages to drop to 155 which he absolutely can, he could even fight and dominate an equally, if not more famous younger Nate Diaz.
Is it worth squashing one star to put over another? In this case, it remains to be seen.
#3 Conor McGregor
Let's entertain the fact that GSP is willing to drop down to 155 pounds a little further. If that truly is the case then we know what's coming next.
Probably the biggest money fight that we could have ever seen in the world of MMA in Conor McGregor Vs Georges St. Pierre.
While even the thought of this fight sends a tingling sensation down my spine, the fact remains that it is extremely hard to make considering McGregor's ongoing (failed?) negotiations with Mayweather for a super fight.
Also the fact that whoever loses will be letting go of major momentum and in the case of McGregor, it has been hard to regain especially after his unprecedented loss to Nate Diaz.
While there is no shortage of hard fights for McGregor in the lightweight division, GSP will need to tread the landscape of division jumping a little more carefully since his legacy will be on the line against a new contender.
#2 Winner of Woodley vs Thompson 2
As the former Welterweight Champion who never lost his title but relinquished it to go into semi retirement, it only makes sense the GSP be given an immidiate title shot on his return to the octagon.
While it may be argued that it is perhaps not wise for GSP to be thrown straight in the fire for his return and perhaps a tune up fight would be a better option for him, it should be noted that the level of competition on the highest level of the sport in MMA does not really allow for so called "tune Up" fights and there is a serious risk of getting knocked out even against the most obscure opponents one can possibly think of.
And when we are talking about the possibility of fighting one of the most accomplished strikers in the world in Stephen Thompson or an extremely well rounded power puncher in Tyron Woodley, there is no reason to believe that either of them could not finish the returning legend at a moment's notice.
Let's not forget that Matt Serra was once regarded as a tune up fight for GSP and we all remember how that went down.
The cards are still on the table though and let's not be quick to dismiss any progress that GSP could have made in the last couple of years.
#1 Anderson Silva
Let's take a moment and reminisce The Spider in his prime. A man with 10 title defenses in the middleweight division, an ungodly amount of stoppage victories won in unbelievably dominating fashion. Who could forget the matrix like performance against a heavier and stronger Forrest Griffin? Or the brutal knees that ended up finishing Rich Franklin twice?
Before we lose ourselves in the dreamy world of fantasy fights and match making, let's get one thing out of the way, Anderson Silva is undoubtedly one of the greatest MMA fighter of all time and also he is without a single shred of doubt, way out his prime.
While GSP vs a prime Silva would have sounded like an undeserving punishment laid on GSP, the fact is that we have just seen Silva put another mediocre performance which barely earned him a win (in a highly controversial fashion).
But let's make another proposition. While facing Anderson Silva is no tune up fight for any fighter in existence, the fact that he is out of his prime is very obvious. Before Silva tarnishes his reputation any further by losing another fight or being a part of another controversial decision, let's get GSP and Silva back in the octagon.
There's only so many times someone can be called the greatest of all time and not expected to win in a gruelling finish.
It would only be fitting to hit the final nail in the coffin on Silva's career as a new chapter begins for St. Pierre.
