Georges St. Pierre Must Defend Title If Successful At UFC 217
Former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre returns after a four-plus year absence to face UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping for the gold at UFC 217.
If the former welterweight champion does win the middleweight gold at the event, then he must defend the gold instead of vacating it.
“I have to defend my title,” St. Pierre said on The MMA Hour. “It’s written in my contract. I have to defend my title if I win.”
Assuming GSP does win the gold at UFC 217, then he is going to be just one of a handful of fighters to win gold in multiple weight divisions in the UFC.
The former welterweight kingpin does admit that defending the title after winning it wasn’t in his original plans.
“That wasn’t my initial plan, but I understand the UFC’s point of view. They want to protect their titles. They don’t want to delay the defence of their titles, because they don’t want to make people wait,” says GSP.
UFC 217 takes place on Saturday, November 4 from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York with Michael Bisping and Georges St. Pierre headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
