MMA community reacts to Georges St-Pierre vs. Michael Bisping booking

Earlier this month, we learned that former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre had finally worked out his differences with the UFC and agreed to the terms of a new contract. This implied an imminent comeback for the Canadian MMA legend. The details of St-Pierre’s comeback fight, however, remained fairly nebulous. We did not know when, where or against whom he would be fighting.

As of this morning, that is no longer the case. While the date and location of St-Pierre’s anticipated comeback fight is still a mystery, we do know who the welterweight great will fight in his return. He’ll be taking on Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title. This fight was announced by UFC President Dana White on ESPN.

Unsurprisingly, this news thrust the MMA community into a frenzy, and generated reactions – both positive and negative – on social media. Without further ado, here are some of the best reactions from MMA’s top fighters, journalists, commentators, and a few members of our BJPenn.com team.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRGtofFDoZd/

https://twitter.com/stipemiocicufc/status/837003480728485889

From Romero's mgmt: "We don't have any comment right now other than Yoel wishes GSP well in his return. He'll talk more about this soon."

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 1, 2017

Feel for Jacare, more so than Yoel, but GSP is my @tristargym teammate, so: 🙂 https://t.co/5WmTVn3Oqh

— The Mane Event™ (@EliasTheodorou) March 1, 2017

WME has a lot of interest to pay off on their purchase… https://t.co/Uxxj0WhIml

— The Mane Event™ (@EliasTheodorou) March 1, 2017

Whoa! https://t.co/C8ifeSttZs

— Lauren Murphy (@LaurenMurphyMMA) March 1, 2017

Can someone get a live video feed to wherever @YoelRomeroMMA is, please!.

— Mike Jackson, Esq. (@TheTruthJackson) March 1, 2017

This is dumb. https://t.co/JBD8ol1DUp

— Sean O'Connell (@realOCsports) March 1, 2017

Manchester was sooo good last year. I'm sure the UK fans wouldn't mind pulling an all-nighter for Bisping vs GSP, right? #ufc #bispingvsgsp

— John Gooden (@JohnGoodenUK) March 1, 2017

https://twitter.com/rdosanjosmma/status/837017446863134720

Wow this is gonna be nuts !!! https://t.co/neudgx3fFZ

— Nam Phan (@NamPhanMMA) March 1, 2017

Yoel and Jacare might as well move to LHW. They're not letting GSP fight either of them if he wins.

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 1, 2017

I think GSP can beat Bisping. However I think @YoelRomeroMMA or @JacareMMA would maul him.

— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) March 1, 2017

https://twitter.com/Pendred/status/836996463595044866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

I really thought the UFC was gonna try to use GSP to coax Conor away from Floyd. Guess I was wrong. Wouldn't have worked anyway.

— Tom Taylor (@TomTaylorWrites) March 1, 2017

Gsp never lost 170 Title…say he takes 185 belt…you know conor is gonna want a shot at calling himself a 4 division champ by beating gsp

— Robert Joyner (@robnashville) March 1, 2017

Interesting…. https://t.co/uDYCYq8Xkl

— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) March 1, 2017

GSP wanted to compete at 185 he should've done so in the Silva era. Middleweight is full of killers now. Weidman, Rockhold, Romero, Jacare..

— devon sawa (@DevonESawa) March 1, 2017

Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre will mark the most combined UFC victories in a single matchup in UFC history (39).

— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) March 1, 2017

https://twitter.com/NeilSeeryMMA/status/837023172897751040

When we last saw Bisping in the Octagon, he defended the UFC middleweight title with a narrow decision over retiring MMA legend Dan Henderson. In his most recent bout before this defense, he shocked the world by knocking out Luke Rockhold to win the middleweight crown. This title win was preceded by defeats of Anderson Silva, Thales Leites, and CB Dollaway.

St-Pierre, meanwhile, has not stepped foot in the cage since late 2013, when he defended the UFC welterweight title with a controversial decision win over Johny Hendricks. The welterweight great vacated this title shortly after this win.

Bisping is the winningest fighter in UFC history, having won 20 fights in the Octagon. St-Pierre, meanwhile, is tied for second on this list, having won 19 fights in the Octagon.

What’s your reaction to this Georges St-Pierre vs. Michael Bisping booking? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/1/2017.