After Georges St-Pierre's thrilling victory over middleweight champ Michael Bisping in the main event at UFC 217 -- further solidifying his legacy as one of the greats -- questions abound as to what challenges await the man known simply as "GSP."
Numerous mountains stood in GSP's path to the win -- a nearly four-year layoff from competition, the UFC's adoption of strict drug testing through USADA and the fact that his last fight, a lackluster split-decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, could possibly have signaled that his best fights were behind him.
Such was not the case. An incredibly relaxed GSP -- even sticking his tongue out at Bisping during one of their face-offs -- used his lightning-fast jab, takedowns and submission skills to defeat the brash Brit. He even came back from Bisping's slicing elbows, which produced gashes on GSP's head and nose possibly breaking the latter as well.
What's next?
After the fight at Madison Square Garden, as GSP stood in the Octagon, gold around his waist once more, color commentator Joe Rogan asked GSP the question on everyone's mind -- what's next?
"Are you going to maintain 185 pounds, are you going to stay at 185 or are you going to continue to fight at welterweight?' Rogan asked, as a camera switched to UFC interim middleweight champion Robert "The Reaper" Whittaker, standing in attendance at the event.
"Well, this is not really my real weight, you know, I did it for the challenge, and there was a time in my career, I was too busy, the challengers were one after the other and I was too small to go up, I was even small for a welterweight. Now I'm still welterweight size," GSP said.
There was no follow-up question from Rogan on GSP's statement, leaving fans and experts to wonder -- what will GSP do next?
Lots of options
For St-Pierre, options abound as to what path he takes in the UFC. He could choose to defend his middleweight belt, most likely against Whittaker, who won the interim strap at UFC 213, beating Yoel Romero by unanimous decision when Bisping was out with a nagging knee injury. The younger, but far less-experienced Whittaker poses problems for GSP, not necessarily in size, but in his takedown defense and knock-out power.
Another option would be for GSP to vacate the middleweight belt and challenge current UFC welterweight kingpin, Tyron Woodley. Woodley has been insisting on a McGregor-like "money fight" and it just so happens GSP is one of the names Woodley has mentioned he feels would get him such a fight. St-Pierre spent his entire career at welterweight, had two long runs as champ in the division, and 170 pounds, as he said, is his natural fighting weight. Woodley too, poses challenges with his heavy hands, wrestling, and strength.
The Money Fight
While Whittaker and Woodley would make great tests for GSP and lead to rousing battles inside the Octagon, a match-up that would garner the biggest groundswell of hype would be a super-, mega-, ultimate showdown with UFC lightweight champion "Notorious" Conor McGregor.
Since GSP's retirement, McGregor rose to prominence in the UFC, becoming its most outspoken, exciting and bankable star. It seems serendipitous that McGregor introduced the term "Money Fight" -- synonymous with big payday fights -- to the MMA lexicon, just before WME-IMG purchased the company.
With WME-IMG looking to make good on its $4.2 billion investment, money fights -- which sometimes eschew a weight class' rankings -- seem to be more prevalent in the UFC.
McGregor's popularity, combined with what has to be a resurgence in GSP's will make a fight between the two one of the biggest ever. And while McGregor may not possess the wrestling chops of Woodley or Whittaker's one-punch KO power, he is an extremely skilled stand-up fighter, seamlessly blending Muay Thai, boxing, and karate.
Although McGregor is poised to defend his UFC lightweight belt -- more than likely against interim champ Tony Ferguson -- provided McGregor wins, WME-IMG would be foolish not to sign the fight between GSP and McGregor.
