Georges St. Pierre books UFC comeback fight

Georges St-Pierre (left) lands on Johny Hendricks in his last fight in 2013. Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA Today Sports

Georges St-Pierre (left) lands on Johny Hendricks in his last fight in 2013. Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA Today Sports

Published Mar 2, 2017

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LAS VEGAS - Legendary former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will return to the octagon against current middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

The UFC announced the matchup Wednesday, after months of negotiation with the Canadian. The mixed martial arts promotion hasn't settled on a date or a venue for the fight, but said it will take place in "the second half of 2017".

St. Pierre is still among the biggest stars in MMA even though he hasn't fought in nearly 3 1/2 years. The 35-year-old Canadian announced his return to the UFC last month.

He made nine consecutive 170-pound title defenses before walking away after a split-decision win over Johny Hendricks.

In his return, St. Pierre will attempt to take the 185-pound belt from Bisping. The English veteran won the title in an upset of Luke Rockhold last year, and he defended it by beating Dan Henderson.

If St. Pierre beats Bisping he will become just the fourth fighter in history to win UFC titles in two weight divisions, following in the footsteps of Randy Couture, BJ Penn and Conor McGregor. 

@GeorgesStPierre RETURNS later this year to battle @MikeBisping for the UFC MW title!

A post shared by ufc (@ufc) on Mar 1, 2017 at 10:12am PST

AP

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