Victory in New York! Georges St-Pierre came back after four years of inactivity to win the UFC middleweight title against the great Michael Bisping at Madison Square Garden tonight. It was perhaps the most dramatic fight of his incredible career. Despite his incredible past successes there have always been three constant criticisms of his work, the first, that he did not finish fights, the second, that he never fought above his weight, and the third, that he fought in a tactical fashion that made some of his fights convincing, but unexciting. Mr St-Pierre took time off to train and reconfigure himself in a way that would enable him to prove people wrong. He worked with Freddie Roach on his punching power and with the squad on submission skills and tied everything together with Firas Zahabi. Tonight he stormed back into the octagon and finished a great opponent in a heavier weight class above his own in a very dramatic and action packed fight. This fight had it all – striking, takedowns, submissions- all encased in back and forth action. When Mr St-Pierre first mentioned to us his desire to come back, it was me who suggested taking on Mr Bisping. My reasoning was that all his career, He had beaten tough welterweights. If he came back as a welterweight it would add nothing to his legacy. Only a significant change in octagon demeanor and weight made sense, so we began planning. All credit to Mr St-Pierre and his worthy opponent Mr Bisping. We are all so proud!
