Picking & Grinning: UFC 217 ‘Bisping vs. St. Pierre’

Georges St. Pierre remains a hot commodity, even after a four-year sabbatical.

“Rush” will make his long-awaited return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he challenges Michael Bisping for the middleweight title in the UFC 217 headliner on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. There, St. Pierre can join Randy Couture, B.J. Penn and Conor McGregor as the only fighters in UFC history to capture championships in more than one weight class.

Two other titles will be on the line, as bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt squares off with former Team Alpha Male stablemate T.J. Dillashaw and women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk takes on Rose Namajunas. The rest of the five-fight main card features a welterweight confrontation matching Stephen Thompson with Jorge Masvidal and a middleweight battle pitting Johny Hendricks against the undefeated Paulo Henrique Costa.

Ahead of UFC 217 “Bisping vs. St. Pierre,” Sherdog.com staff members and contributors swallowed their pride and put their reputations on the line with bold predictions:

THE LINEUP

185: Michael Bisping vs. Georges St. Pierre
135: Cody Garbrandt vs. T.J. Dillashaw
115: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas
170: Stephen Thompson vs. Jorge Masvidal
185: Johny Hendricks vs. Paulo Henrique Costa
155: James Vick vs. Joseph Duffy
265: Walt Harris vs. Mark Godbeer
205: Ovince St. Preux vs. Corey Anderson
170: Randy Brown vs. Mickey Gall
265: Alexey Oleynik vs. Curtis Blaydes
205: Ion Cutelaba vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
135: Aiemann Zahabi vs. Ricardo Lucas Ramos

THE STANDINGS

Jordan Breen: 237-108
Tristen Critchfield: 231-114
Brian Knapp: 226-119
Todd Martin: 221-124
Eric Stinton: 215-130
Mike Fridley: 215-130

THE PICKS

Jordan Breen: Bisping, Garbrandt, Jedrzejczyk, Thompson, Costa, Duffy, Harris, St. Preux, Gall, Blaydes, Cutelaba, Zahabi

Tristen Critchfield: Bisping, Garbrandt, Jedrzejczyk, Thompson, Costa, Duffy, Harris, St. Preux, Gall, Blaydes, Cutelaba, Ramos

Brian Knapp: Bisping, Garbrandt, Jedrzejczyk, Thompson, Costa, Duffy, Harris, St. Preux, Brown, Blaydes, Cutelaba, Ramos

Todd Martin: Bisping, Dillashaw, Jedrzejczyk, Thompson, Costa, Vick, Harris, St. Preux, Brown, Oleynik, Cutelaba, Ramos

Eric Stinton: St. Pierre, Garbrandt, Jedrzejczyk, Masvidal, Costa, Duffy, Harris, St. Preux, Brown, Blaydes, Cutelaba, Zahabi

Mike Fridley: St. Pierre, Garbrandt, Jedrzejczyk, Masvidal, Costa, Duffy, Harris, St. Preux, Gall, Oleynik, Cutelaba, Zahabi