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12 15 de Mayo, 2020 I www.laportadacanada.com Deportes Georges “Rush” St-Pierre to be Inducted into UFC Hall of Fame

BY GIANCARLO AULINO – BARNBURNER NETWORK

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TORONTO. - Georges “Rush” St-Pierre, who for years was among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, will take his rightful place when he joins the “Modern Wing” of the UFC Hall of Fame. The announcement was made last night at UFC 249, when a video package played during the broadcast.

St-Pierre’s accomplishments inside the octagon were impeccable; 2x UFC Welterweight Champion, UFC Middleweight Champion, most consecutive title defenses in the UFC’s welterweight division, and most takedowns in UFC history (90) just to name a few.

During his career, the Montreal, Quebec native was a bankable star for the UFC and that was on full display when the UFC held their first event in Toronto. There were over 55,000 fans that packed Rogers Centre to witness St-Pierre defend his UFC Welterweight Championship against Jake Shields, who had come into that fight on a 15-fight win streak.

St-Pierre is also credited as being one of the fighters who changed the perception of an MMA/UFC fighter from being labelled a ‘cage fighter’ competing in what those opposed to MMA being legalized as “human cock-fighting” to being a legitimate professional athlete through the way he conducted himself outside the octagon and during media availabilities.

After retiring and vacating his UFC Welterweight Championship in 2013 to take a break from the stress that comes with being both a UFC champion and one of the top fighters in the promotion, St-Pierre’s name was constantly being brought up for potential fights, but the interest just was not there at the time.

A few years later, St-Pierre expressed a desire to compete again under the right circumstances, which was that he only wanted to return for fights that would impact his legacy in the sport as opposed to fighting up-and-coming fighters and risk jeopardizing his legacy with another fighter making a name for themselves at his expense.

After talk of St-Pierre returning to challenge then-UFC

Photo courtesy of UFC

Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley for the title didn’t materialize, plans were changed and instead it was announced that St-Pierre would be making his return in 2017, but it would be to challenge Michael Bisping for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

St-Pierre mentioned that he wanted to challenge himself and do something he had never done before in his career and moving up to 185lbs was just that. There were many who felt the extra weight and time off would hinder St-Pierre’s performance, but he looked better than ever and ended up defeating Bisping via third round submission to capture the UFC Middleweight Championship in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.

BY LOGAN LOCKHART – BARNBURNER NETWORK

TORONTO. - The release of a new NFL schedule usually indicates optimism for teams looking to either improve from the bottom, or to maintain their place at the top--but in 2020, the hopefulness that the season will not be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is the main concern.

The league unveiled its full slate of games last Thursday under the expectation that the season will go on without a hitch--with fans or without fans, the season is scheduled to start on September 10 when the Super Bowl champions in Kansas City host Houston in a playoff rematch of the 2019 AFC Divisional game.

Unlike the NBA, MLB, and NHL, the NFL has had the luxury of moving forward with its original calendar, despite concerns with the virus and how it will affect the sporting landscape.

“We will be prepared to make adjustments as necessary, as we have during this offseason in safely and efficiently conducting key activities such as free agency, the virtual draft off-season program, and the 2020 NFL Draft,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement Thursday, via NFL.com.

Intriguing storylines are provided through the 2020 schedule, and optimism that a season will be played as planned will rejoice football fans, and journalists alike.

“I was told, and I believe it, that there is an extremely small chance that there will not be an NFL season,” said NBC Sports Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk on May 4.

The optimism exists, and the release of a front-loaded schedule, filled with divisional games early on will excite football fans for a September start.

A total of nine division matchups will be seen in week one alone, including a marquee game in New Orleans when Tom Brady will make his Buccaneers debut against his new NFC South rival.

Conventional thinking would lead the NFL on a road towards scheduling inter-conference games before loading up

9 Division Games will highlight the start of the NFL’s schedule

Photo courtesy of NFL.com

The one fight that seemed to interest St-Pierre was against undefeated UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and once that fight did not come to fruition, St-Pierre announced his retirement at press conference last year at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

It will be interesting to see what the UFC have planned for the Hall of Fame ceremony.

with division matchups early on due to how easy they are in postponing.

The approach from the league is an interesting one, given the circumstances of the happenings in the world.

Expectations that the league would schedule interconference games for the first four weeks of 2020 were real prior to the schedule release, due to how the less valued games would be easier to throw away if the effects of the pandemic were to put a damper on the season.

Instead, the league has suggested how confident they are on playing the upcoming season as if it’s like any other one by scheduling meaningful games in week one.

“My understanding is this--(the NFL has a) strong degree of determination to go forward with week one,” said Florio on NBC’s Pro Football Talk on May 11. “Week one is happening. Period.”

Other than the delay the schedule release date, the NFL’s offseason has been smooth, calculated, and productive. Free agency, draft-offseason program, the draft, and now the schedule- -all successful and unaffected.

Contingency plans amid the virus are built into the schedule. All teams who play each other on week two will share the same bye week, and there will be no division games during the third and fourth weeks.

The NFL is confident, but when will time run out on the optimism? The speed of COVID-19 is moving at a pace that can’t be predicted, but with the 2020 schedule now out for the public’s viewing, it is clear the league is determined in fighting it.

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