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Georges St-Pierre challenges Michael Bisping to choose date for title matchup

Georges St-Pierre has announced a timeframe for his comeback fight against UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping later this year.

In a social media post Friday, the Canadian star told Bisping to choose a date any time after October.

"Mr. Bisping, I cleared my entire schedule to get ready for training camp after this summer," St-Pierre said. "So I can fight you any time after October. Pick the date. Let's get it on."

Earlier this week, St-Pierre posted a photo inside New York's Madison Square Garden and teased, "I could be fighting here in a few months." UFC, which visited Madison Square Garden for the first time in promotion history in November, has not announced an event for that venue this year.

St-Pierre (25-2) has not fought since he vacated the UFC welterweight title in late 2013 to take a leave of absence. At the time, he was considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.

Following lengthy negotiations with UFC in 2016, St-Pierre announced his plans to return to the Octagon earlier this year. UFC immediately booked him to challenge Bisping (30-7) for the middleweight championship, even though St-Pierre has not fought at 185 pounds before.

Several of UFC's top middleweights have criticized the matchup, including Anderson Silva, Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold.

UFC had hoped the middleweight title fight would headline UFC 213 on July 8 in Las Vegas, but St-Pierre has now publicly announced that he will not return until the fall.