Opening odds: Georges St-Pierre slight favorite for UFC title fight vs. Michael Bisping

It’s been more than three years — November 16, 2013 to be exact — since Georges St-Pierre last competed inside the octagon.

And yet, despite the long layoff and likely turning 36 years old and moving up in weight to fight a champion, St-Pierre isn’t considered the underdog in his comeback fight vs. Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title.

Independent odds consultant Joey Oddessa (Oddessa.com, @MMAOdds on Twitter) has set the Oddessa Line as St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) as a -125 favorite, just ahead of Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) at -105.

The fight, which was announced today by Dana White but is without a set date or location, must take place before December 31, 2017 in order to have action.

While GSP being listed as the slight favorite might come as a bit of a surprise, the line is likely aided by two factors. One, Bisping also is an aging veteran who just turned 37; so youth is not a factor. And two, both men have taken a majority of their most recent fights to a decision, which St-Pierre has been a master at out-pointing his opponents, with eight of his nine welterweight title defenses going to the judges.

“On paper, this is the easiest title fight and the biggest money fight for both guys for the UFC to make in 2017,” Oddessa told MMAjunkie. “Statistics? Inactivity? Striking? Takedowns? Takedown defense? Twleve of their last 15 combined fights have gone to the scorecards. You wanna study the fight? Study what the judges won’t see that night.”

| Title: Opening odds: Georges St-Pierre slight favorite for UFC title fight vs. Michael Bisping
| Author: MMAjunkie Staff
| Date: March 1, 2017