Georges St-Pierre says he wants the winner of UFC 229’s lightweight title fight. UFC President Dana White says no way. Seems like we’ve been through this before. Retired UFC and WEC fighter Danny Downes joins MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes to discuss in this week’s Trading Shots.

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Fowlkes: Danny, I’m conflicted. With Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor finally set to fight, the conversation has already turned to what comes next. Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre has offered his services as a potential answer to that question, only to be rebuffed by UFC President Dana White, who insists that the UFC is “not interested” in one-off money fights like that.

A part of me thinks that’s the right answer. I mean, look what happened at middleweight. Everyone from fighters to fans told White that, if he won the belt, GSP was not going to stick around to defend it. The UFC made the fight anyway (and made a bunch of money when it happened), but the prophecy came to pass. St-Pierre won the belt and promptly abandoned it, leaving middleweight as a mess for Robert Whittaker to clean up by himself.

So has White has learned his lesson? Maybe, except he’s also planning to give occasional fighter Brock Lesnar a heavyweight title shot, despite the very good odds that he won’t hang around to defend it should he win, seeing as how he’s a 41-year-old pro wrestler who’s fought twice in the last seven years.

I have two questions: 1) Do you believe White, or should we interpret this as another one of those denials that’s basically a confirmation; 2) Assuming White is for real on this, what do you make of the sudden change of heart on one-off money fights, which have been a cornerstone of the UFC’s pay-per-view strategy in recent years? Would you be glad to see that approach disappear, or is this just about a grudge against GSP?

OK, so maybe that’s three questions…

Downes: How many years have you been doing this, Ben? You’ve been following MMA so long that you probably created an Anglefire page back in the ‘90s. Yet, after all this time, you still come to me asking if we should take White at his word.

The man is a known liar. Those lies may be tactical in order to gain leverage in negotiations (which I think is the case here), but they’re lies nonetheless. GSP was never going to fight again. We were never going to see women in the UFC. Jon Jones will never headline another pay-per-view.

When White makes his hyperbolic statements, nobody knows what it means. But it’s provocative; it gets the people going.

I suppose I understand the attraction, but why do we keep giving his statements attention? Sure he’s the president of the UFC, but at a certain point you have to realize when you’re being used. White repeatedly uses reporters and media as instruments for his bidding. Sometimes it involves public statements like this one. Other times, he picks up the phone and makes a call.

No, I do not believe Dana White. I bet he is mad at GSP for not defending the middleweight title, but not because he cares about the integrity of the divisions. It’s because a GSP title fight sells. St-Pierre has the intelligence and the money to sit out as long as he wants. The UFC doesn’t have leverage.

Calling a fighter a coward or claiming they’re “scared” to fight is a tactic that works on 95 percent of the roster. GSP is in that 5 percent that doesn’t care. Seems pretty straight forward doesn’t it?

Would I mind if GSP fought for the lightweight title? Nope. Divisions and titles are completely fluid nowadays. What’s another superfight for old time’s sake?

Fowlkes: See, that’s where I feel the most conflicted. Almost on accident, I’ve been won over to this money fight approach. It might not make sense for the division or the title, but so what? The UFC has spent the last few years, intentionally or not, convincing me that titles don’t really matter. So fine, just put together a great fight that’d be a lot of fun to watch, regardless of what state it leaves the division in. I’m sold.

And GSP versus the winner of McGregor-Nurmagomedov? That is just such a fight. Either we get the sport’s biggest superstar against one of the greatest of all time, or we get the best lightweight against the all-time best welterweight. That’s a no-lose deal.

It’s hard for me to see turning that down as a negotiating strategy, since it’s far less clear that the UFC might be trying to negotiate for this time. With the Bisping fight, at least we could all see it as a transparent attempt to make St-Pierre conform to the UFC’s preferred timeline.

This time? White is out here throwing cold water on a potential megafight, seemingly just because he’s mad that GSP played him.

But if there’s anything more powerful than White’s ego, it’s his love of money. And GSP versus the lightweight champ is a license to print your own.

It’s also just a damn good fight, and you know it. Does it make sense for the division? No, but neither did GSP vs. Bisping. Should you be able to waltz right into a title shot in a division you’ve never competed in? No, but ditto GSP vs. Bisping.

I guess that’s what’s weird about it. The UFC won me over to this approach, the approach where it does whatever makes the most money, even if the logical justification for it is so thin it’s basically non-existent. Would it really abandon that approach now, just when it threatens to give us something amazing?

Downes: Much like you, my concern for the rankings (not that they were that legitimate in the first place) has long since diminished. Even when they are taken into account, the UFC schedule renders them meaningless.

Fans can barely keep track of who’s a champion. Do we really expect them to stay up to date on the top 10 of any division? Hell, if you could name the top five ranked light heavyweight fighters, I’d buy you a Crystal Palace jersey that actually fits.

I feel the same way about the moneyfight as I do about Vitor Belfort’s senior division or the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. Why not have some fun? The sport started as spectacle, so why not embrace it? While we’re at it, one of these bareknuckle boxing leagues should create the “Art Jimmerson Invitational” where the competitors have to wear a glove on one hand.

I wonder, though, why do you feel conflicted? You make it sound like you’ve been beaten down to the point of just going along with the show. That’s very different from being won over by logic and results. Why did you worry about superfights “holding up the division?” Why were you concerned about moneyfights ruining setting the sport up for short-term gains and long-term losses?

I’m sure a lot of fans have had a similar change of heart. That’s fine, but it’s important to ask why we’ve changed our minds. Is it because we don’t want to miss out on something fun, like Lesnar vs. Cormier or GSP vs. McGregor? Or do we think the concerns were greatly exaggerated in the first place?

There might come a day in the not so distant future where you realize you should have stuck with your original opinion.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Danny Downes, a retired UFC and WEC fighter, is an MMAjunkie contributor who has also written for UFC.com and UFC 360. Follow them on twitter at @benfowlkesMMA and @dannyboydownes.