Why GSP vs Bisping deserve each other.

This has been a roller coaster for casual and hardcore MMA fans alike. We all peaked like a dog hearing a treat bag being rustled once the return was rumored and announced, then began the endless discussion of who, when, where and at what weight class the revival of the Greatest Of All Time would be revealed.

Then with a level of apprehension, and mild disappointment, Dana White announced that Georges St. Pierre’s first fight back in the octagon would be against Michael “The Count” Bisping, for the UFC Middle Weight Championship. Quite frankly, I love the decision and believe it was unequivocally the correct move. However, I understand the frustration with MMA fans worldwide that frown upon “money fights” in favor of having the next deserving contender fight for the belt. But there is more to Bisping vs GSP then just a money fight and its for a simple reason, we are in a transitional time in MMA.

I’ve been an MMA fan for a decade, and I remember a time where every weight division had two or three guys that were the superstars and then there was everyone else. BJ Penn, Kenny Florian, and Frankie Edgar at light weight (155 pounds). GSP, and Matt Hughes at welter weight (170 pounds). Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson at middle weight (185 pounds). Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Tito Ortiz at light-heavy weight (205 pounds). Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Randy Couture at heavy weight (265 pounds). Of course, each and every one of those weight divisions had many other very talented athletes, but in my mind, these were the guys that were constantly beating everyone else. These were the men that won and entertained the most when MMA and the UFC was at it’s most upward climb. A lot of these athletes are retired or near retirement but still deserve our appreciation more than the up and comers and elite fighters of today.

We’ve gone from five weight divisions to nine, a three weight class women’s division (something I thought I’d never see) and belts changing hands more frequently than at any other time in UFC history. This speaks to what those aforementioned men did to grow the popularity, quality of training and mainstream appreciation of MMA, and they deserve their pay day.

GSP and Bisping gave everything they had to this sport before it was popular, before fighters were getting movie deals, before the thought of million dollar purses and cross-sport super-fights were ever dreamed of. We need to realize that this sport is more than just rankings and belts, that these men put their bodies on the line more than any other athlete on the planet and that they ALL deserve multi-million dollar contracts comparable to the other professional athletes of today. The over-reaching hand that the UFC corporate wing has over these fighters earning potential, shows me that we should encourage these long standing soldiers get the million dollar fights they deserve.

Fighters such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk (no shame in Googling the spelling), Amanda Nunes, Cody Garbrandt, Demetrious Johnson, Tony Ferguson, Tyron Woodley, Stephen Thompson, Jorge Masvidal, Yoel Romero, Jacare Souza, Anthony Johnson, Jimi Manuwa, Derrick Lewis, and Francis Ngannou, show me the future is bright.

Dominic Cruz, Robbie Lawler, Demian Maia, Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold, Gegard Mousasi, Daniel Cormier, Junior Dos Santos and Stipe Miocic show me the present is just as admirable and inspiring as it has ever been.

Veterans and future hall of famers; Jose Aldo, Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort and Shogun Rua show me that we are far from done giving legends the proper send off they deserve.

It’s probably bad writing edict to list as many fighters as I did, but I wanted to soundly demonstrate just how great an era we are in and how much we have to look forward to. If I have forgotten any fighters that deserve a mention, please let me know and I will make sure I learn about them and appreciate them as much as I do everyone else.

I will get into why GSP and the UFC got the decision to return at 185 right in a future post. But let this article inspire you to look up all these legend’s great fights, and remind yourself why they all deserve to go out with a bang.

As always, if you agree or disagree, please let me know about it on twitter @ericjcampbell91.

Thanks for listening,

Eric J. Campbell

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