Georges St-Pierre all set to face former Welterweight contender in his UFC return

UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre will face Demian Maia in a grappling match at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6 on December 14th. In their first meeting under any ruleset, the two UFC veterans will compete under modified rules. Demian confirmed the matchup on Twitter.

3 things you need to know

• Gorges St-Pierre is a UFC Hall of Famer
• He is a former two-division UFC champion
• He announced his return to UFC for a grappling match

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GSP to face Damian Maia in his UFC return

Before retiring, GSP was a two-weight world champion in the UFC, having won titles at the welterweight and middleweight division. "Rush" is a black belt and long-time disciple of John Danaher, and has trained with grapplers such as Gordon Ryan on a regular basis for many years. This will be his first fight since vacating the UFC middleweight title that he won with a rear naked choke over Michael Bisping.

Every now and then, something comes up that still does really motivate you.
Grappling @GeorgesStPierre will be a huge challenge & great motivation.
You GSP are one of the greatest competitors ever, whom I respect a lot. I’m game! Looking forward to competing at @ufc invitational.

— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) July 20, 2023

Georges was first announced for the event on July 6th, following the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4.

GSP IS BACK IN ACTION!

He’ll compete at #FPI6 on December 14th live on @UFCFightPass! pic.twitter.com/FVlgw6Dtrf

— UFC (@ufc) July 6, 2023

Earlier, GSP had named the Diaz brothers, former UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and soon to be contender for the 170-pound strap Colby Covington as the ideal opponents. However, apparently UFC zeroed-in on another former contender.  

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Who is Damian Maia?

Demian Maia is a former UFC welterweight contender, a fifth-degree black belt, and an ADCC champion who is widely regarded as one of the best grapplers to ever make the transition to MMA. Demian, now retired from MMA, will forever be remembered as one of the most successful submission artists in UFC history, having submitted eleven opponents and competed for multiple world titles. He has returned to submission grappling since leaving the UFC, most recently facing fellow veteran Charles Oliveira in superfight action.