UFC 217: Michael Bisping Annihilates Georges St-Pierre's Coaching Staff
UFC 217: Michael Bisping Annihilates Georges St-Pierre's Coaching Staff
UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping discusses his upcoming UFC 217 showdown against Georges St-Pierre.
By Damon Martin
Michael Bisping has heard a lot of chatter coming out of Georges St-Pierre's camp in the leadup to their Nov. 4 tilt at UFC 217 in New York City, but the defending middleweight champion barely believes any of it.
Perhaps the top comment that's been made over and over again is St-Pierre's promise to come out more aggressively than he showed in his last few performances inside the UFC Octagon. If you believe the talk, St-Pierre will go for the kill against his British opponent at Madison Square Garden.
The last time St-Pierre finished an opponent was in 2009, when B.J. Penn stopped between rounds in their title fight at UFC 94. From there, the Canadian took a ton of criticism over the years for playing it safe rather than going for the stoppage or the submission. Currently, St-Pierre has won seven straight fights via decision.
To help him achieve his more violent goals, however, St-Pierre has been working extensively with boxing coach Freddie Roach as well as another striking coach, Jorge Blanco, to get ready to stand and bang with Bisping at UFC 217.
For all those promises, Bisping doesn't believe a single word of it -- much less that St-Pierre is actually learning much from either of the coaches he's working with right now.
"He's hanging out with Freddie Roach and this other f*cking striking coach [Blanco] that doesn't know his ass from his elbow," Bisping told FloCombat. "I just commented this morning -- the has been, the never was, and the never will.
"Georges is the has-been, his striking coach is the never-was, and the never-will is Freddie Roach. 'Cause he knows f*ck all about MMA. He probably couldn't even spell MMA."
In the buildup to the fight, Roach has been doing more and more interviews talking about St-Pierre's return, because for the first time ever, he will be in the former welterweight champion's corner when he faces Bisping next month.
Bisping admits that, from a boxing standpoint, Roach is a legend of the coaching game, but he feels some of the statements the coach has been making lately are just ludicrous.
"Freddie Roach said something the other day, he said, 'Georges is the better athlete' and that's what this is pretty much going to come down to," Bisping said. "With all the respect to Freddie Roach, he is an esteemed trainer, that's an ignorant statement to make. Freddie Roach coming from the boxing world and being involved in combat sports as long as he has, he knows that. He f*cking knows damn well that it's not about who's the better athlete. It's who wants it more. Who's got the experience. Who's got the heart.
"Ultimately, GSP doesn't got the heart that I have. I don't think anyone does."
Of course, Bisping is preparing for all facets of St-Pierre's mixed martial arts skill set, so he won't discount the possibility of the Quebec native trying out any number of game plans in their fight.
That said, Bisping doesn't expect St-Pierre to do anything different than he did throughout his welterweight title reign that ended in 2013 when he won a controversial decision over Johny Hendricks and then disappeared from the sport for the past four years.
"He can talk all he wants and he can have Freddie Roach up there teaching him how to f*cking box, but he's going to look to take me down and control me on the ground or look for a submission -- just like Georges always does," Bisping said. "Georges doesn't like getting hit in the head.
"Now, nobody likes getting hit, but he dislikes it. After that last fight against Johny Hendricks, that's why he took some time away. That's why he disappeared from the sport, and now he sees me as somebody you can take down and control and win on the ground."
Of course, Bisping has an entirely other plan in mind, and that's what he will look to execute when he gets St-Pierre into the Octagon on Nov. 4.
Don't miss breaking news, feature stories, event updates, and more. Sign up for the FloCombat mailing list today.
Michael Bisping has heard a lot of chatter coming out of Georges St-Pierre's camp in the leadup to their Nov. 4 tilt at UFC 217 in New York City, but the defending middleweight champion barely believes any of it.
Perhaps the top comment that's been made over and over again is St-Pierre's promise to come out more aggressively than he showed in his last few performances inside the UFC Octagon. If you believe the talk, St-Pierre will go for the kill against his British opponent at Madison Square Garden.
The last time St-Pierre finished an opponent was in 2009, when B.J. Penn stopped between rounds in their title fight at UFC 94. From there, the Canadian took a ton of criticism over the years for playing it safe rather than going for the stoppage or the submission. Currently, St-Pierre has won seven straight fights via decision.
To help him achieve his more violent goals, however, St-Pierre has been working extensively with boxing coach Freddie Roach as well as another striking coach, Jorge Blanco, to get ready to stand and bang with Bisping at UFC 217.
For all those promises, Bisping doesn't believe a single word of it -- much less that St-Pierre is actually learning much from either of the coaches he's working with right now.
"He's hanging out with Freddie Roach and this other f*cking striking coach [Blanco] that doesn't know his ass from his elbow," Bisping told FloCombat. "I just commented this morning -- the has been, the never was, and the never will.
"Georges is the has-been, his striking coach is the never-was, and the never-will is Freddie Roach. 'Cause he knows f*ck all about MMA. He probably couldn't even spell MMA."
In the buildup to the fight, Roach has been doing more and more interviews talking about St-Pierre's return, because for the first time ever, he will be in the former welterweight champion's corner when he faces Bisping next month.
Bisping admits that, from a boxing standpoint, Roach is a legend of the coaching game, but he feels some of the statements the coach has been making lately are just ludicrous.
"Freddie Roach said something the other day, he said, 'Georges is the better athlete' and that's what this is pretty much going to come down to," Bisping said. "With all the respect to Freddie Roach, he is an esteemed trainer, that's an ignorant statement to make. Freddie Roach coming from the boxing world and being involved in combat sports as long as he has, he knows that. He f*cking knows damn well that it's not about who's the better athlete. It's who wants it more. Who's got the experience. Who's got the heart.
"Ultimately, GSP doesn't got the heart that I have. I don't think anyone does."
Of course, Bisping is preparing for all facets of St-Pierre's mixed martial arts skill set, so he won't discount the possibility of the Quebec native trying out any number of game plans in their fight.
That said, Bisping doesn't expect St-Pierre to do anything different than he did throughout his welterweight title reign that ended in 2013 when he won a controversial decision over Johny Hendricks and then disappeared from the sport for the past four years.
"He can talk all he wants and he can have Freddie Roach up there teaching him how to f*cking box, but he's going to look to take me down and control me on the ground or look for a submission -- just like Georges always does," Bisping said. "Georges doesn't like getting hit in the head.
"Now, nobody likes getting hit, but he dislikes it. After that last fight against Johny Hendricks, that's why he took some time away. That's why he disappeared from the sport, and now he sees me as somebody you can take down and control and win on the ground."
Of course, Bisping has an entirely other plan in mind, and that's what he will look to execute when he gets St-Pierre into the Octagon on Nov. 4.
Sign Up For The FloCombat Newsletter
Don't miss breaking news, feature stories, event updates, and more. Sign up for the FloCombat mailing list today.