Last week, Georges St-Pierre announced his return to the UFC after a four year hiatus. The former UFC welterweight champion will turn 36 in May but that doesn't seem to phase his confidence. “I feel the Georges St-Pierre now would beat the Georges St-Pierre that was the greatest of the time that used to compete. So I can’t wait to go back in there and show people — including myself — to test my skill and see how everything goes," St-Pierre said in an Instagram video posted by his sponsor, Hayabusa.
He also added that he feels the best that he has in his entire career. “I think for me it’s time to come back now because I’m 35-years-old. I just finished a training camp that I did to see if I could come back to the world-class level and I feel at the best shape of my life. I feel better than I’ve ever been."
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GSP has won 12 fights in a row and hasn't lost since 2007, but his last fight was in 2013. Now that we know St-Pierre (25-2) will once again step foot into the octagon, it's a good time to take a look at his potential opponents. St-Pierre has fought his entire career at welterweight but could also fight at lightweight or middleweight. So here are a few fights that I think would make sense for him:
Michael Bisping: UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been asking for this fight on social media for a while now. It makes sense because it gives Bisping the marquee fight he has been looking for, it puts GSP right back in the title picture, and it is sure to deliver fireworks inside and outside of the octagon. However, Bisping could be facing Yoel Romero next.
Tyron Woodley/Stephen Thompson winner: The winner of this anticipated rematch will be the reigning, defending, undisputed UFC welterweight champion. The division that St-Pierre dominated from 2007-2013. Also, it would give GSP an immediate shot at the title he never lost. This fight makes too much sense not to happen.
Johny Hendricks: St-Pierre's last fight was against Hendricks for the welterweight title. GSP won by split-decision and Johny Hendricks still feels like he won that fight. He recently said that he is interested in a rematch with GSP after he won his debut middleweight fight against Hector Lombard. It would make sense to tie up the loose ends and to give St-Pierre a fight to see what he looks like before he gets a chance at the title. But, it wouldn't be the most attractive fight on paper.
Anderson Silva: If UFC doesn't opt for a title fight with St-Pierre and instead opts for a superfight, then this fight will be one of the biggest they can do. It will pit G.O.A.T. vs G.O.A.T. Silva and St-Pierre both have claims to being the greatest fighter of all-time and this would give them the chance to settle it once and for all in the octagon. However, father time has caught up to the 41-year-old Silva. He's looked like a shell of his former self in his last few fights and who knows what GSP will look like. This might be one that UFC chooses to keep as a dream match and not have these two legends square off when they're not in their primes.
Conor McGregor: Last but not least, the PPV king of the UFC. It seems like everyone wants a piece of McGregor and whether this fight happens at 155 or 170, this is the biggest possible fight the UFC can do with St-Pierre monetarily speaking. Even if this isn't the plan for his first fight back, I definitely get the feeling that this fight will eventually happen, solely based on the business it will do. It will be a media circus and a great test for both McGregor and St-Pierre. Plus, I don't think their is a fan of mixed-martial arts out there that wouldn't want to see this fight.
Whatever option Dana White and the UFC choose, it will be great to see the Canadian legend back in the octagon. Hopefully, he is at or near the level he was at when he went on his hiatus.
