Alan Jouban on Georges St-Pierre: I think he sees Bisping as a more favorable fight than Tyron Woodley

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has signed a shiny new deal with the UFC, and is poised for a return to the Octagon later this year. His return, however, will not occur in the welterweight division he ruled for so long. Instead, he’ll return to a middleweight title shot against reigning divisional king Michael Bisping.

Alan Jouban, who is quickly rising through the ranks at welterweight, thinks he knows why St-Pierre is returning to the Bisping-ruled middleweight division, rather than the welterweight division, which is now ruled by the dangerous Tyron Woodley. He believes that St-Pierre has probably not been training as hard as he says he has been, and that the former champ probably views Bisping as a much simpler puzzle to solve than Woodley.

Alan Jouban explained this feeling in an interview with BJPENN.COM’s Chris Taylor.

“You know I wish I knew more about Georges St-Pierre’s training,” he said. “I have never been to Tristar and I don’t know what he has really been doing. He claims to have been training this entire time that he was off. But you know there is a big difference man. To me there is a big difference in training for fun and training because it is a job. I love training for fun. When I wake up and I am like ‘You know what, I want to go hit the mitts today. Or I’m going to skip this and just do jiu-jitsu today.’ That is different man. That shit is awesome. That shit is fun. Training as a job is not nearly as fun. Like you know that you have to do this, none of it is optional. I can’t realistically say to myself that I believe that, for the last three years, that Georges St-Pierre, with all the money that he has and all the movies that he has been shooting, has actually been training his butt off in fight mode and getting better. I just don’t believe that what he is saying is true. I don’t think this is the best Georges St-Pierre we will have ever seen.”

“I believe that he probably doesn’t want to go take on Woodley,” Jouban continues. “That is probably not the best fight for him. Woodley is basically like [St-Pierre] in many ways only younger, faster and stronger. I think [Georges] sees Bisping as a more favorable fight. St-Pierre probably walks around heavier these days. He is probably not training and dieting like he used to so it is easier for him to cut to 185-pounds. As good as Michael is, he is not a killer in any one category, he is just very well-rounded. Plus like Georges, Bisping is older in age so I definitely see why it is likely a more favorable match-up than Tyron Woodley.”

Alan Jouban will return to the Octagon this weekend in the co-main event of UFC London, where he will attempt to defeat the uniquely skilled Gunnar Nelson.

What do you think of Alan Jouban’s assessment of Georges St-Pierre’s return? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/16/2017.