{"id":210776,"date":"2016-11-19T16:10:43","date_gmt":"2016-11-20T00:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=210776"},"modified":"2016-12-09T15:56:29","modified_gmt":"2016-12-09T23:56:29","slug":"photo-georges-st-pierre-training-chael-sonnen-bellator-cage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/georges-st-pierre\/photo-georges-st-pierre-training-chael-sonnen-bellator-cage\/","title":{"rendered":"PHOTO | Georges St-Pierre training with Chael Sonnen in Bellator cage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre’s <\/a>ongoing\u00a0dispute with the UFC has been an extremely long one with many unanticipated bumps in the road<\/a>. While St-Pierre has maintained that he is ready to once again return to the Octagon, and end his 3-year hiatus<\/a>, he and the UFC have been unable to reach a deal that would see ‘Rush’ return to action.<\/p>\n

Several months ago, all signs pointed to St-Pierre returning to the Octagon at UFC 206 in Toronto to fight Michael Bisping for the middleweight championship on December 10th. While both men agreed to the bout, one major hangup stood in the way, St-Pierre’s sponsorship with Under Armour.<\/p>\n

\"Georges<\/a><\/p>\n

St-Pierre ultimately released a message to Bisping<\/a>, informing him that while he wished he could fight at UFC 206, negotiations with the UFC failed and he would be unable to do so.<\/p>\n

This week, St-Pierre’s attorney gave an update on GSP’s negotiations with the UFC<\/a>, saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fair to say that negotiations for UFC 206 have failed, and Georges is OK with that,\u201d said Eric Hochstadt, one of St-Pierre\u2019s attorneys and a partner in Weil\u2019s Litigation Department. \u201cHe certainly tried with the UFC\u2019s new management.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLook \u2014 Georges is ready to go if we can get this done,\u201d Hotchstadt said. \u201cHopefully, for the sport, for Georges, for fans, that can happen. At this rate (of negotiations), probably next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t need the UFC,\u201d Hochstadt said of St-Pierre. \u201cIf the new owners, William Morris-IMG, don\u2019t want him back and they try to block him from fighting elsewhere, he can then take the legal battle or decide to walk away and do other things.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, interestingly enough, St-Pierre posted a photo to Twitter showing he and recently signed Bellator MMA fighter Chael Sonnen post-training.<\/p>\n

\n

Thanks @chaelsonnen<\/a> for inviting me to train in the @bellatormma<\/a> cage! Learned so much new stuff under the supervision of @neilmelanson<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ndsnS60AaK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) November 20, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n