UFC 217 Michael Bisping vs Georges St-Pierre: What time does it start, what TV channel is it on, where can I watch it?

Everything you need to know about UFC's biggest card of the year

Michael Bisping will defend his middleweight world championship against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217 (Getty)

The UFC’s best fight card of the year takes place on Saturday with the long-awaited return of former welterweight world champion Georges St-Pierre taking centre stage as he attempts to claim the middleweight title from Britain’s Michael Bisping.

The 36-year-old, know more commonly as GSP, has not fought in the UFC since he beat Johnny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013, a fight which cemented his status as one of the most dominant champions in the mixed martial arts history after nine consecutive welterweight title defences.

During his 12-fight unbeaten run, he knocked off names such as Nick Diaz, BJ Penn and Matt Hughes as well as another Briton in The Independent columnist Dan Hardy, having twice lost championship fights in the past against Hughes and Matt Serra. GSP avenged both of those defeats in later fights, but he never faced Bisping despite the two being in the UFC at the same time.

Since GSP’s retirement, a return has been repeatedly teased and Bisping has been vocal in his desire to be the one that took on the UFC great if he decided to re-enter the Octagon.

Manchester-born Bisping claimed the middleweight championship with a stunning knockout victory over Luke Rockhold at UFC Fight Night 55 after taking the fight at just 17 days’ notice. He has since defended the belt against Dan Henderson, but this bout represents a step-up onto a level that he has not faced in his past 37 fights.

The co-main event also sees two rivals go head-to-head as bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt takes on former stablemate TJ Dillashaw. Garbrandt shocked the UFC when he despatched long-time champion Dominick Cruz to claim the bantamweight title, and his outspoken approach and creative style has seen him emerge as a crowd favourite in the organisation.

Dillashaw meanwhile will hope to beat his former Team Alpha Male colleague and claim back the title that he dropped to Cruz in January 2016. The two were due to meet in July after captaining the two Ultimate Fighter teams this year, only for Garbrandt to suffer a back injury.

Bisping won the middleweight title by defeating Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 (Getty)

A third title battle features on the card as long-time reigning women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk takes on Rose Namajunas in what will be the American’s first title challenge since losing the inaugural championship match back in December 2014.

Undefeated Pole Jedrzejczyk has won all 14 of her professional bouts and has successfully defended the title five times since winning it in March 2015. Despite her punishing style, Jedrzejczyk has not knocked out an opponent since her win over Jessica Penne at UFC Fight Night 69 over two years ago, and she will be keen to make a statement against Namajunas that she is still the dominant force in the UFC strawweight decision.

Garbrandt won the bantamweight title at UFC 207 (Getty) (Getty Images)

Namajunas meanwhile is coming off an impressive victory over Michelle Waterson, and will pose a larger threat than her 6-3 record suggests.

Other big names on the card includes Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, who takes on Jorge Masvidal in the hope of putting himself back in the welterweight title picture after his two unsuccessful clashes with Tyron Woodley, and Johny Hendricks, who is looking to return from his latest setback after missing weight in his last defeat by Tim Boetsch. Former welterweight champion Hendricks takes on the undefeated Paulo Borrachinha in only his third UFC fight.

When is it?

UFC 217 takes place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday 4 November.

What time does it start?

The early pre-lims begin at 10.30pm GMT, with the pre-lims getting underway at midnight and the main card starting at 2am. Bisping vs St-Pierre will likely begin between 3.30am-4am.

Jedrzejczyk faces Namajunas for the first time (Getty)

Where can I watch it?

The main card and preliminaries will be shown live on BT Sport 2 from midnight. The early pre-lims will be shown live on UFC Fight Pass from 10.30pm.

Full card...

Main card:

Michael Bisping vs Georges St-Pierre (middleweight championship)

Cody Garbrandt vs TJ Dillashaw (bantamweight championship)

Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Rose Namajunas (women’s strawweight championship)

Stephen Thompson vs Jorge Masvidal (welterweight)

Johny Hendricks vs Paulo Borrachinha (middleweight)

Pre-lims:

James Vick vs Joesph Duffy (lightweight)

Walt Harris vs Mark Godbeer (heavyweight)

Ovince Saint Preuz vs Corey Anderson (light heavyweight)

Randy Brown vs Mickey Gall (welterweight)

Early pre-lims:

Oleksiy Oliynyk vs Curtis Blaydes (heavyweight)

Ion Cutelaba vs Michal Oleksiejczuk (light heavyweight)

Aiemann Zahabi vs Ricardo Ramos (bantamweight)