Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has signed a shiny new deal with the UFC, and is poised for a return to the Octagon later this year. His return, however, will not occur in the welterweight division he ruled for so long. Instead, he’ll return to a middleweight title shot against reigning divisional king Michael Bisping.
Alan Jouban, who is quickly rising through the ranks at welterweight, thinks he knows why St-Pierre is returning to the Bisping-ruled middleweight division, rather than the welterweight division, which is now ruled by the dangerous Tyron Woodley. He believes that St-Pierre has probably not been training as hard as he says he has been, and that the former champ probably views Bisping as a much simpler puzzle to solve than Woodley.
Alan Jouban explained this feeling in an interview with BJPENN.COM’s Chris Taylor.
“You know I wish I knew more about Georges St-Pierre’s training,” he said. “I have never been to Tristar and I don’t know what he has really been doing. He claims to have been training this entire time that he was off. But you know there is a big difference man. To me there is a big difference in training for fun and training because it is a job. I love training for fun. When I wake up and I am like ‘You know what, I want to go hit the mitts today. Or I’m going to skip this and just do jiu-jitsu today.’ That is different man. That shit is awesome. That shit is fun. Training as a job is not nearly as fun. Like you know that you have to do this, none of it is optional. I can’t realistically say to myself that I believe that, for the last three years, that Georges St-Pierre, with all the money that he has and all the movies that he has been shooting, has actually been training his butt off in fight mode and getting better. I just don’t believe that what he is saying is true. I don’t think this is the best Georges St-Pierre we will have ever seen.”
advertisement – continue reading below“I believe that he probably doesn’t want to go take on Woodley,” Jouban continues. “That is probably not the best fight for him. Woodley is basically like [St-Pierre] in many ways only younger, faster and stronger. I think [Georges] sees Bisping as a more favorable fight. St-Pierre probably walks around heavier these days. He is probably not training and dieting like he used to so it is easier for him to cut to 185-pounds. As good as Michael is, he is not a killer in any one category, he is just very well-rounded. Plus like Georges, Bisping is older in age so I definitely see why it is likely a more favorable match-up than Tyron Woodley.”
Alan Jouban will return to the Octagon this weekend in the co-main event of UFC London, where he will attempt to defeat the uniquely skilled Gunnar Nelson.
What do you think of Alan Jouban’s assessment of Georges St-Pierre’s return? Sound off, PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/16/2017.