I'd be hard pressed to imagine Bisping being able to cut all the way down to 170. Bisping is replacing Anderson Silva in the main event at Shanghai. That's a quick turnaround.
Conor is a big 145 and 155, but he's a small 170. He tipped his toe in that division, but would get taken apart if he stuck around in it. I don't think Conor will have to worry about fighting for a while. He'll be getting sanctioned for the B.S he just pulled.
Great post, Mr.1derful. I want to address some of what you said, and also speak a little on a potential GSP vs. McGregor super-fight. I want to start by addressing your points before I trail off in the last three paragraphs.
I think you are right with your implication that 170-lb would be very hard for Bisping to make. I suspect he competes weighing over 205, so would it really be wise to cut to 170 and put on 35 or more pounds within just a few days? Even GSP would probably have a tiny bit of difficulty cutting to 170, although I would bet money on GSP's ability to do so.
As you said, Conor may not be fighting for a while, especially if he behaves like this again - and it's quite possible that the damage is done already. Although with the UFC's lackluster 2017 year [as best as I can tell, they have not been selling as many PPVs with McGregor out of the picture], the UFC may want to go easy on him. My brother told me that when he threw those water bottles at the pre-UFC 202 presser, that one of the bottles hit a child. I have not verified that though, but he also told me that McGregor was fined a massive amount for the incident. I researched the matter myself, and found that the figure was $150,000:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/conor-mcgregor-fined-water-bottle-incident-1.3800630Now to address things not in your post...
Now that GSP has come back and proven himself, I don't think there is any doubt who would win in a GSP vs. McGregor fight. Furthermore, since McGregor would be competing at a weight above his natural walking-around weight, with GSP significantly outweighing him, I don't think anyone would hold it against McGregor for losing to GSP - just as Mayweather beating McGregor did not ultimately hurt McGregor's brand. It would also be fantastic money for GSP, McGregor, and the UFC.
The UFC has been a bit bland without McGregor around which is why Dana White and the UFC gives him such a long leash. But he's pushing it with some of his behaviour, clearly drunk on his own celebrity, and he will figure that out sooner than later. A GSP/McGregor super-fight at a catch-weight would also give GSP 21 UFC wins, breaking Bisping's record for the most wins. But with that in mind - I suspect Bisbing may still be around for a while. At Bisping's age, I think the best thing for him to do would be to have the UFC pair him with a decent 185'er who is a good match for him, but one who would ultimately be an underdog. Have that fight take place in London, and allow Bisping to retire from the UFC on a win, so that Bisping can still retire at least somewhat on top [this would be like Ronnie coming back in 2008 to win a lower level pro show and retire with on a W]. Contrast that with Johny Hendricks [or, in bodybuilding terms, Nasser El Sonbaty or even Ronnie] who stuck around too long and ultimately became a punching bag for younger guys - harming his legacy with each successive fight.
Nice to see so many fight fans here on Getbig.
