Michael Bisping expects to be out of action for almost half of 2017, as the Brit revealed to Fight Network’s John Pollock that he is scheduled to undergo knee surgery in the next couple of weeks.
The news will come as a disappointment to fans that have criticized Bisping’s championship status, as many expected ‘The Count’ to defend his middleweight title against the feared Yoel Romero in the coming weeks.
Bisping, who knocked out Luke Rockhold to win the belt last year and defended the title against Dan Henderson at UFC 204, expects to return to the Octagon in May.
“I actually found out just recently I’ve got to have a knee surgery,” Bisping said (h/t Damon Martin of FOX Sports). “Nothing major, just a clean up. I’ve got a slightly torn meniscus, a couple other things going on in there so I’ve got to get that knee surgery taken care of. We scheduled that and I should be having that in the next couple of weeks.
“Get that taken care of and I’ll probably be defending the belt around May, something like that I would guess.”
Bisping received backlash for entertaining a fight with former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, who he was rumored to face at UFC 206. When that fight fell through, the 37-year-old ruled himself out of a title defense at the same event after citing an injured orbital, which led many to question his true motivations.
Bisping’s win over Rockhold was one of the biggest upsets in the sport and the Lancastrian is still not fully credited for the victory. He is currently ranked as the No. 10 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, per UFC rankings.
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