UFC 217 Will Conquer Boxing This Weekend

UFC 217: Bisping v GSP

To put it simply, the UFC is getting everything right as of late.

The build-up and promotion of their biggest events in recent years have been second to none. The production of top-class vignettes and highlight reels gives their fights a larger than life feel. Add to that some real-life drama between fighters and you've got something that's hard for any fight fan to turn away from.

Bottom line: Michael Bisping and George Saint Pierre don't like each other. In terms of their personalities, they really couldn't be more different. GSP has his reserved, down-to-earth demeanour while 'The Count' exudes brash, loud-mouthed arrogance.

Bisping is coming in as the champion, but GSP is the more well-rounded, respected athlete and is widely regarded as one of the best to ever step in the cage. He is, however, coming back from a four-year hiatus from the sport, creating a juicy sense of intrigue for this one. Right now, there are lots of colliding opinions, but nobody really knows how it's going to go.

Now to the undercard, where Cody Garbrandt is set to square off against T.J. Dillashaw, a match fans have been hankering after for a long time. Again, there has been a little bad blood between these two, but here the real hook is that they are both exceptional fighters with exceptional power and speed. Many feel it's a genuine fifty-fifty fight which in a sport as unpredictable as MMA is always ideal.

On top of this, Stephen Thompson and CM Punk-slayer Mickey Gall are also featured on the undercard and prelims, making this a card that would leave any fight fan watering at the mouth.

It's set to be a monumental show and one which will, no question, blow any other show on Saturday night straight out of the water. Boxing may be winning the war, but this battle goes definitively to the UFC.

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