UFC 217 preview: Comebacks, grudge matches, and title fights

Few fighters have enjoyed as cushy a third act as Michael Bisping.

In the 17 months since he sent heart rates soaring with a KO of Luke Rockhold that crowned him the UFC's first British champion, the 38-year-old middleweight king has righted a years-old wrong in a decision over Dan Henderson in his native Manchester, a record 20th Octagon victory, and seen his longstanding designs on a marquee matchup with the returning Georges St-Pierre come to fruition - thanks in part to a panned performance from welterweight champ Tyron Woodley at UFC 214.

A bout that injuries to both champ and challenger briefly put on the shelf will now headline Saturday's UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden, this months after St-Pierre inked a new four-fight deal to end a lengthy layoff.

Given he hasn't fought in four years, nor competed at middleweight under the UFC banner, St-Pierre's return to action has raised as many questions as it has eyebrows, the tumultuous path to the booking doing little to keep fans, pundits, and media alike from dissecting it ad nauseam. That he and Bisping have both publicly contemplated, then backpedaled on retirement ahead of their tilt has only added to the hoopla.

The welterweight great packed on pounds of muscle in preparation for his dance with a former light heavyweight in Bisping, and will have legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach in his corner for the first time alongside Tristar head man Firas Zahabi on fight night. The move hasn't fazed the brash Brit, who's repeatedly belittled St-Pierre and predicted he'll revert to the conservative - albeit undeniably effective - takedown-heavy ways that earned him every major welterweight record before beginning his self-imposed exile in late 2013.

To the surprise of no one, Bisping has done his damnedest to get under St-Pierre's skin any time he's found himself in front of an audience or a microphone, and if he walks the walk in the most lucrative bout of his lengthy career, he'll go down as the only man to have bested St-Pierre and Anderson Silva.

Quite cushy, indeed.

"No Love" Lost

Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw may never have been friends, but that doesn't make Saturday's co-main event any less of a grudge match.

Two years, a season as opposing coaches on "TUF," and a lifetime's worth of mutual finger-pointing following Dillashaw's unceremonious exit from Team Alpha Male, the bantamweight stalwarts will look to put a button on the fallout in Garbrandt's first defense of the crown he won in a near-flawless showing opposite Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 in December.

The pair of former training partners were slated to square off at UFC 213 in July, only for Garbrandt to pull out weeks prior with a back injury, but will now duke it out in a fight billed by many as the people's main event.

Garbrandt was a mere upstart, Dillashaw a titleholder-to-be, when he made the trek from Ohio to the Sacramento-based camp, but he's gladly shouldered the task of settling his team's longstanding beef with the 31-year-old Dillashaw - who eventually took his talents and title to Colorado to train with fellow persona non grata Duane Ludwig. He meets his fellow bantamweight with a perfect 11-0 record including nine victories by knockout.

Dillashaw lost the crown to Cruz in a razor-close split decision in January 2016, but earned his way back into title contention with lopsided verdicts over Raphael Assuncao and John Lineker at UFC 200 and 207, respectively. Should he get the last laugh in the long-awaited clash of rivals, he'd join Cruz as the only fighter to hold the promotion's bantamweight strap on two separate occasions.

Joanna Champion chases Rousey's record

Madison Square Garden: an arena fit for a queen.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk aims to make the landmark the site of her sixth successful strawweight title defense, one that would tie her with former bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey for a UFC women's record. The indomitable Pole has made relatively easy work of her first five challengers to the belt she won from Carla Esparza by a second-round TKO at UFC 185, and aims to one-up Rousey's resume before a flyweight foray.

Standing in the way of Jedrzejczyk's grand designs is "Thug" Rose Namajunas. At a time when she'd been billed as the next Rousey, the 25-year-old ventured into deep waters with just three pro bouts to her name in the "TUF 20" finale, where she fell to Esparza by submission in the UFC's first strawweight title bout, but she's since righted the ship with four wins in five walks to the Octagon - the sole blemish in that span coming in the form of a close split decision loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 201.

She heads to the Garden not seven months after tapping Michelle Waterson in under two rounds at UFC on FOX 24.

Karate Kid vs. Gamebred

Buried underneath the hullabaloo surrounding the bill's trio of title bouts is a first-rate welterweight clash out of an antique arcade game between karateka Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson and seasoned banger Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal.

The 34-year-old Thompson returns to the cage after a pair of failed bids to dethrone divisional champ Tyron Woodley, the first ending in a majority draw at UFC 205, the second in a majority decision at UFC 209. The South Carolina native underwent knee surgery following the rematch, and will compete in his first fight scheduled for three rounds or less since outpointing Patrick Cote at UFC 178 over three years ago.

Masvidal - a 14-year-vet who cut his teeth as a street fighter in his native Miami - emerged as a surprise contender with an emphatic second-round knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC on FOX 23 this past January, only to drop a hard-fought split decision to Demian Maia in a title eliminator four months later.

He wasted little time challenging Thompson to throw down after falling to Maia, with the karate stylist taking him up on it in equally short order. Masvidal and Thompson enter their dance as the No. 4 and No. 2 seeds in the UFC's welterweight ranks, respectively.

Related: UFC 217 predictions: Who will leave the Big Apple with gold?

(Photos Courtesy: Action Images)