Georges St-Pierre broke his nose in a winning effort at UFC 217.
The cherry on top of a night full of incredible fights, St-Pierre was on his way to the hospital when Dana White announced who he’d be fighting next.
“It’s gonna be [Robert] Whittaker,” White told the media after the event. “He’s staying at 185 pounds.”
There were a number of fighters already lining up to face off against the new champion, but White wasted no time in putting the discussion to rest. Whittaker was on hand to witness the fight, and was smiling when he saw Bisping tap out in the third round.
There are some questions to when a fight would take place, though. Whittaker is recovering from a knee injury stemming from his fight against Yoel Romero earlier this year. As the reigning interim middleweight champion, a title unification bout makes the most sense, but only if the time frame works out.
Exactly when Romero will be ready to fight in 2018 isn’t known.
“I don’t even know what’s going on with GSP,” White conceded after the fight.
St-Pierre will need stitches, and though his injury isn’t considered serious, his timeline for recovery isn’t known either.
UFC 217 didn’t disappoint. And if it manages to set up a GSP vs. Whittaker title fight at some point in 2018, it’ll prove to be the gift that keeps on giving.