UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 4, 2017, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.[3]

UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre
The poster for UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 4, 2017 (2017-11-04)
VenueMadison Square Garden
CityNew York City, New York
Attendance18,201[1]
Total gate$6,200,000[1]
Buyrate875,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis

Background

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St-Pierre (right) fought for the first time in four years, as he tried to become the fourth fighter to win titles in different weight classes in the UFC. Meanwhile, Michael Bisping (left) had his 2nd title defense since he became the champion at UFC 199 in June 2016.

The event was the second that the promotion has hosted at Madison Square Garden.[3]

A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between current champion and The Ultimate Fighter 3 light heavyweight winner Michael Bisping and former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre headlined this event.[4][5] The bout was originally announced in March, but without a date attached. As time wore on the contest appeared to fall apart, with UFC President Dana White claiming Bisping would fight interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker next and St-Pierre would get current welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. When Whittaker announced he was injured and Woodley put on a successful title defense against Demian Maia at UFC 214 in July that didn't meet White's standards, he reverted to the initial plan, which St-Pierre and Bisping said they wanted all along.[6]

A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between champion Cody Garbrandt and former champion T.J. Dillashaw, was previously scheduled to serve as headliner for UFC 213.[7] However, Garbrandt withdrew from the fight due to a back injury.[8] The fight was later rescheduled for this event.[9][10]

A UFC Women's Strawweight Championship bout between champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk and former title challenger Rose Namajunas took place as the third title fight of the event.[11]

Gadzhimurad Antigulov was expected to face Ion Cuțelaba at the event. However, Antigulov pulled out of the fight on September 26 citing an injury.[12] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Michał Oleksiejczuk.[13] In turn after the weigh-ins, Cuțelaba was pulled from the event by USADA due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from its investigation into voluntary disclosures by Cuțelaba during an out-of-competition sample collections on October 18 and October 19. He was provisionally suspended and the bout cancelled.[14]

A heavyweight bout between Walt Harris and Mark Godbeer was initially slated for UFC 216. However, the fight was scrapped on the day of the event as Harris, was tabbed replacement opponent for Fabrício Werdum after his scheduled opponent Derrick Lewis pulled out of their fight with a back injury.[15] The Harris/Godbeer pairing was rescheduled and took place at this event.[16]

Patrick Cummins was expected to face The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn light heavyweight winner Corey Anderson at this event. However, on October 17, Cummins pulled out due to a resistant staph infection.[17] He was replaced by former interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Ovince Saint Preux.[18]

Results

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Main Card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Middleweight Georges St-Pierre def. Michael Bisping (c) Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) 3 4:23 [a]
Bantamweight T.J. Dillashaw def. Cody Garbrandt (c) TKO (punches) 2 2:41 [b]
Women's Strawweight Rose Namajunas def. Joanna Jędrzejczyk (c) TKO (punches) 1 3:03 [c]
Welterweight Stephen Thompson def. Jorge Masvidal Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Middleweight Paulo Costa def. Johny Hendricks TKO (punches) 2 1:23
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Lightweight James Vick def. Joseph Duffy TKO (punches) 2 4:59
Heavyweight Mark Godbeer def. Walt Harris DQ (illegal head kick) 1 4:29 [d]
Light Heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux def. Corey Anderson KO (head kick) 3 1:25
Welterweight Randy Brown def. Mickey Gall Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes def. Alexey Oleynik TKO (doctor stoppage) 2 1:56 [e]
Bantamweight Ricardo Ramos def. Aiemann Zahabi KO (spinning back elbow) 3 1:58
  1. ^ For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
  2. ^ For the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
  3. ^ For the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship.
  4. ^ Harris was disqualified for hitting Godbeer with a head kick after the referee called a time out due to a groin strike.[19]
  5. ^ The referee stopped the fight after Blaydes delivered an illegal kick to a downed opponent and called a doctor to check on Oleinik. The fight was stopped due to the doctor's advice. The replay, however, showed the strike did not deliver significant damage (as it only grazed the ear), and the fight was ruled a TKO win for Blaydes.[20]

[21]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters were awarded bonuses:[22]

  • Fight of the Night: None awarded
  • Performance of the Night ($50,000): Georges St-Pierre, T.J. Dillashaw and Rose Namajunas
  • Performance of the Night ($25,000): Ovince Saint Preux and Ricardo Ramos

Record set

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Like UFC 33, UFC 205 and UFC 214, the card featured three title fights. However, this was the first time in UFC history that all three champions lost their belts on the same card.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Staff (2017-11-05). "UFC 217 draws reported 18,201 attendance for $6.2 million live gate in Madison Square Garden return". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  2. ^ Cunningham, Cillian (2017-11-17). "Report: UFC 217 Pay-Per-View Numbers Speak Volumes About GSP's Star-Power". punditarena.com. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  3. ^ a b Mookie Alexander (2017-06-26). "UFC's late 2017 schedule includes PPV in Detroit, return to MSG in November". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  4. ^ Mike Bohn (2017-08-02). "Champ Michael Bisping says Georges St-Pierre title bout official for UFC 217 in NYC". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  5. ^ Staff (2017-08-16). "Bisping-GSP, Garbrandt-Dillashaw title fights among 7 official for UFC 217". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  6. ^ Mike Bohn (2017-08-09). "Georges St-Pierre officially signs agreement to fight Michael Bisping at UFC 217". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  7. ^ Staff (2017-04-09). "Dana White confirms bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt meets former champ T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 213". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  8. ^ Rob Goldberg (2017-05-23). "TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt scratched from UFC 213". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  9. ^ Marcel Dorff (2017-08-09). "Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw rebooked for UFC 217 in New York" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  10. ^ Staff (2017-08-09). "Champ Cody Garbrandt says he's fighting T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  11. ^ Dann Stupp (2017-09-12). "UFC 217 gets 3rd title fight: champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  12. ^ Marcel Dorff (2017-09-26). "Gadzhimurad Antigulov injured, fight against Ion Cutelaba canceled" (in Dutch). mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  13. ^ Bartłomiej Stachura (2017-10-13). "Michał Oleksiejczuk at the UFC – will fight with Ion Cutelaba at UFC 217" (in Polish). lowking.pl. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  14. ^ Simon Samano (2017-11-03). "Ion Cutelaba flagged for possible USADA violation, removed from UFC 217". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  15. ^ Simon Samano and John Morgan (2017-10-07). "Derrick Lewis injured; Fabricio Werdum now faces Walt Harris last minute at UFC 216". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
  16. ^ Jim Edwards (2017-10-09). "Mark Godbeer and Walt Harris reschedule bout at UFC 217". mmauno.com. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  17. ^ Staff (2017-10-17). "Patrick Cummins says he's off UFC 217 fight card due to 'mutant staph infection'". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  18. ^ Mike Bohn (2017-10-19). "Ovince Saint Preux replaces Patrick Cummins, meets Corey Anderson at UFC 217 in NYC". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  19. ^ Matt Erickson (2017-11-04). "UFC 217 results: Mark Godbeer takes kick to the face – and DQ win over Walt Harris". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  20. ^ Matt Erickson (2017-11-04). "UFC 217 results: After bizarre ending, Curtis Blaydes gets TKO win over Aleksei Oleinik". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-11-04.
  21. ^ "UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  22. ^ Staff (2017-11-05). "UFC 217 bonuses: Title winners Namajunas, Dillashaw, St-Pierre get extra $50,000". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  23. ^ Trent Reinsmith (2017-11-05). "UFC 217 results: three titles change hands at Madison Square Garden for a new UFC record". forbes.com. Retrieved 2017-11-05.