Freddie Roach to corner GSP in his MMA comeback

MMA Update: Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will make his long awaited return to the Octagon later this year when he takes on middleweight titleholder Michael Bipsing, and it appears as if St. Pierre will have a new face in his corner for the bout.

“Rush” has worked with legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach for years now, but Roach has never been in his corner, although that will soon change:

“I promised Georges I’ll be in his corner,” Roach told The Boston Herald. “That would be my first time in a corner for MMA, yes. It’s a little bit different, obviously, but the thing is, you have different coaches. And one thing I know about coaching is that people only listen to one person. So somebody will be in control of what’s going on, and we’ll all work together while the round’s going on and help each other.”
St. Pierre has long trained under the tutelage of Firas Zahabi at the famed Tristar Gym in Canada. It’s likely that Zahabi will remain in his corner, but Roach actually feels as if he’ll be the main speaker on fight night:

“Who’s going to be the speaker that night is whoever Georges is most comfortable with, and it will probably be me, I think, but we’ll see how that goes,” Roach said. “I think Georges has a lot of confidence in me, and I in him.”
As far as St. Pierre’s return bout goes, Roach seems to be confident. The Canadian will obviously be at a size disadvantage, but Roach believes that “Rush” is ‘too much of an athlete’ for Bisping:

“I think Georges is too much of an athlete, too skillful for him,” Roach said. “I know Georges’ number one game is not striking, but he is getting better and better at it, and I feel that going into this fight he’s going to be really confident.”

Category: Mixed Martial Arts