Georges St-Pierre (Forbes)

It was recently announced that after three long years, Georges St-Pierre will make his return to the UFC octagon. The question on everyone’s mind was simple: Who would be his first opponent back? We didn’t have to wait long to find out.

UFC President Dana White went on ESPN’s SportsCenter today to announce that GSP will face Michael Bisping for the UFC Middleweight Title. A date or location for the fight has not been set by the UFC. There will be a press conference with the two fighters on Friday in Vegas.

httpss://twitter.com/ufc/status/837000150778159105

In regards to GSP and the steps to actually get to this fight, White stated:

“We haven’t set a date yet, but that’s the fight. He has to go through USADA – he has to be tested by USADA for the next three months. There’s a lot of things that have to happen for Georges St-Pierre to come back, and then we’ll pick a date.”

The great Georges St-Pierre (25-2) took a hiatus from fighting in 2013. His last fight was against Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, a match in which he won his ninth consecutive title defense as Welterweight Champion. After dealing with injuries (ACL tear) and negotiations, GSP signed a multi-fight contract with the company in February.

What a way for GSP to make his return. What’s interesting is the timing of all of this. Yoel Romero defeated Chris Weidman at UFC 205. It was assumed he would be next to face Bisping for the title. Now, it looks like Romero will have to take a back seat, which has been a common theme in the UFC over the past few months.

It appears that Romero has been informed of the news but has not released an official statement yet.

As for Bisping (30-7), this is the fight he may be more interested in. He has won 20 fights in the UFC after joining the promotion in 2006’s The Ultimate Fighter finale. With five straight wins, a fight with GSP may be the “money fight” Bisping has been looking for. It looks like one of those fights to the UFC anyway, especially for new owners WME-IMG.

GSP is back, and he’s looking to make an immediate impact. Whether you like it or not, this is the ideal bout for the UFC. It will be interesting when more information is released to the public.