If Georges St-Pierre is able to defeat Michael Bisping later this year, he’ll defend the middleweight title at least once.
Appearing on The MMA Hour Monday, the former UFC welterweight champion disclosed that it is in his contract that he must defend the 185-pound title. That would mean a bout with interim UFC champion Robert Whittaker sometime in 2018.
“It’s written in my contract,” St-Pierre said. “I have to defend (the) title. I have to if I win.”
GSP, who will face Bisping on November 4 at UFC 217 in New York City, admitted that he likely would have made a different choice if presented to him following a win over Bisping.
“That wasn’t my initial plan, but I understand the UFC’s point of view,” St-Pierre said. “They want to protect their titles. They don’t want to delay the defense of their titles, because they don’t want to make people wait.”
A victory for St-Pierre would put him on a short list of fighters to hold UFC titles in multiple classes, joining Randy Couture, BJ Penn and Conor McGregor. He vacated the welterweight championship after a win over Johny Hendricks in 2013.
