Georges St-Pierre is considered by many as one of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters in history. He has not officially retired from the sport but he has not fought since November 16, 2013, at UFC 167 when he defeated Jonny Hendricks via controversial split decision.
GSP proceeded to vacate his UFC welterweight championship a month later and announced his hiatus from the sport. He has teased his comeback in the past couple of years but no new deal was signed.
However, Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting broke the news on Wednesday that St-Pierre and the UFC have agreed to terms on a new contract. GSP's comeback fight has not been finalized but it could be sometime in the third quarter of this year.
Now let's take a look at the three possible opponents for the return of "Rush" inside the Octagon. And no, Conor McGregor is not one of them.
"The Count" is the likely opponent for GSP later this year. St-Pierre and Bisping verbally agreed to fight each other at UFC 206 when the Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson fight was canceled. However, the UFC and GSP failed to get a deal done in time.
The reigning middleweight champion is also the current favorite by oddsmakers to be GSP's opponent. Bisping also revealed to The MMA Hour that GSP's trainer Jorge Blanco told him that the former welterweight champion wants to fight him.
"I've had no further dialogue with the UFC, but I know that Georges, his trainer told me recently that they're pretty much at an agreement with the UFC. So the deal is almost done and he wants to fight me," Bisping said, via Bloody Elbow.
Even though GSP is in no rush to reclaim his welterweight title, the current champ is a possible opponent for him. Woodley and St-Pierre have history since they trained together at the Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada.
There's even a time when GSP called Woodley the best striker he has ever trained with. However, the welterweight champ has to successfully defend his title first before a fight with St-Pierre happens. Woodley faces Stephen Thompson for the second time at UFC 209 on March 4 in Las Vegas.
Back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, many fans wanted a super fight between Silva and GSP. Fast forward to 2017, Silva is a shell of his former self at the age of 41 years old as evident in his controversial win over Derek Brunson at UFC 209.
On the other hand, GSP has not fought for more than three years and there is no clear sign that he is still the fighter he once was. Nevertheless, Silva vs. GSP is a fight fans still want to see and the UFC would make a lot of money if they finally decide to make it happen.
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