The head honcho, Dana White, is a very strict when to comes to fighters following protocol. He doesn’t always tolerate athletes neglecting the comprehensive guidelines established by the promotion to ensure their safety. Whether it’s a staph infection or a torn meniscus, the head honcho doesn’t like athletes fighting injured or with a disability. However, a UFC legend disregarded all of it for a multi-million-dollar payday against GSP.
Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping was set to defend his title against the legend Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217. ‘The Count’ knew that his catastrophic eye injury had numbered his days as a professional fighter. Still, he couldn’t say no to a life-changing opportunity that could solidify his legacy and also secure his financial future. This was also the time that the Englishman kept the extent of his eye injury under wraps, often fooling doctors to get cleared to fight, after his eye was injured in a fight against Vitor Belfort in 2013.
Bisping, during an interview with former professional boxer Carl Froch on the Froch On Fighting podcast, said, “That fight vs Georges St. Pierre, I was in a load of s*** against GSP. It was terrible, because what happened and you will know, the week before my final sparring session, some guy took me down and landed on top of me, and tore all the cartilage in my ribs. So, not only was I blind in one eye, I tore the cartilage in my ribs and I couldn’t move!”
“The doctor I went to see said, ‘You can’t fight next week. ’ I said, ‘This is gonna be the biggest fight of my career, by far my biggest payday. I’m stepping in that ring regardless. I don’t get the give a s*** because of my eye issue; that was the worst-kept secret of all time. I knew I was on borrowed time, so and I was against George, you know, it was going to be a million dollar pay day, there’s no way I wasn’t going to go and collect that, because I do it all for my family and my children and our future”, he added.
(180806) — SYDNEY, Aug. 6, 2018 (Xinhua) — Ultimate Fighting Championship(UFC) player George St-Pierre attends a press conference PK Pressekonferenz in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 6, 2018. St-Pierre will give three speeches in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane this week to share the lessons he learned in mixed matrial arts. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye) (SP)AUSTRALIA-SYDNEY-UFC-PRESS CONFERENCE-GEORGE ST-PIERRE PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN
Michael Bisping was an incredibly animated champion, and he truly embodied what it meant to be a company man for the promotion. However, even during his time at the top, he opened up about not receiving the enormous paychecks fans might expect. For his short-notice victory over Luke Rockhold, he earned $250,000, and for his title defense against Dan Henderson, he received $297,500.
When he faced GSP, he unfortunately lost the bout via rear-naked-choke, but Bisping mentioned that he finally got the big payday he had been waiting for. While the exact figures for Bisping’s earnings remain under wraps, GSP hinted that he raked in around $10 million for that bout including sponsorships. So, we can expect that ‘The Count’ made a significant amount including his base pay and sponsorships, considering how big the UFC 217 card was.
While fighting is a sport that isn’t for anyone, doing it with just one eye is simply ridiculous, but awe-inspiring. Michael Bisping isn’t just recognized as one of the greatest MMA fighters from Britain because he won and defended the middleweight championship—he’s a legend of the sport because he did it with one eye.
What was the reason for GSP to take retirement after fighting Michael Bisping at UFC 217?
You know, when it comes to UFC legends, Georges St-Pierre is definitely a name that gets included in every fan’s Mount Rushmore. His title reign was nothing short of dominant, and honestly, it’s hard to argue against his greatness. Throughout his career, only two fighters were able to handle him, and that’s a testament to just how fierce GSP really was in the octagon.
GSP, after defeating Johnny Hendricks at UFC 167 on November 16, 2013, announced that he’d be relinquishing his welterweight title and left the sport for 4 years. On March 27, 2014, ‘Rush’ revealed a torn ACL that delayed his return to the sport. Fast forward to 2017, Dana White announced that GSP would return against Michael Bisping in a championship bout.
On November 14, 2017, at UFC 217, GSP defeated reigning champion Michael Bisping via a rear-naked-choke in the third round to become the new UFC middleweight champion. Suddenly, ‘Rush’ announced his retirement in December 2017 after holding the belt for only 34 days. The real reason for him vacating the belt was a disease called ulcerative colitis, a bowel infection disease. GSP revealed that he didn’t want to hold up the division and hence decided to vacate the belt.
What do you think about the legendary fight between Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre? Please comment down your thoughts below.
The post Gambling With Dana White’s Wrath for ‘Million Dollar Pay Day’, UFC Legend Admits Violating Rules for GSP Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.
