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November - 2014
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
32
Should GSP Get An Immediate
Title Shot in Return?
Article By: RJ Gardner
THE
MMA com-
munity has
been buzzing
with news of former UFC wel-
terweight champion Georges
St. Pierre’s return to training. Is
he coming back? When will he
return? It’s all anyone can seem
to talk about.
I get it; I’m a huge GSP fan and
I would love to see him back
in the cage competing, but it’s
way too early to tell. GSP is a
lifelong martial artist and he
is a fitness freak, so him
returning to training
isn’t surprising at all.
Rather
than
s p e c u l a t e
about if and
when he
will return,
let’s
just
say that he
does make
a comeback
s o m e t i m e
next year. If that
happens, should
GSP get an imme-
diate title shot?
It’s a tough question
because he is GSP and
he is arguably the greatest
champion in UFC history,
but is that enough to out-
weigh his time away from
the cage? Ring rust is real and
the UFC welterweight division
is as deep as it gets. It is filled
with worthy title challengers.
Would it even be fair to throw
GSP right into the fire of a title
shot?
If GSP comes back to MMA, it
should be against a top five op-
ponent but not the champion.
Granted if anyone should get
an immediate title shot after
a sabbatical, it’s GSP, but the
smarter play is to let him get
his feet back under him in the
cage. GSP will need a fight to
work the kinks out and get his
timing back.
Think about it this way; if GSP
comes back and he is immedi-
ately thrown into a title fight, the
odds of him being rusty and
under-performing
are
high. If he loses, then
his popularity will
take a hit. But if
you bring him
back slowly,
while at the
same time
challenging
him
with
top talent,
then
you
set him to be-
come the force
and figure he was
before he stepped
away from the cage.
Right now the UFC could
really use the viewership
boost GSP would provide, but
if they try to rush him back,
it could be a serious case of
playing with fire.