Although Michael Bisping faced criticism for going back-and-forth with pound-for-pound great Georges St-Pierre, with many fans accusing him of ducking top contenders in the middleweight division, ‘The Count’ is still open to a mega-money fight with the Canadian.
Bisping, who is currently recovering from knee surgery, told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he feels he deserves a high profile fight against one of the sport’s biggest stars.
The Lancastrian has been fighting in the UFC for over ten years and has noticed a shift in the MMA landscape. Fighters like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey are earning huge paychecks and Bisping, who now rules as middleweight champ, wants to make his own multi-million dollar payday.
“The only reason I’m saying Georges St-Pierre is because I know he wants to fight me, and I was offered a fight with him. That’s the only reason he’s in my mind,” Bisping said, per MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti. “If I wasn’t offered a fight with him [in 2016], I wouldn’t be thinking Georges St-Pierre. But that just got that carrot dangled in front of my face of a several-million-dollar payday. Call me stupid, but I want that f*cking carrot. I want that several million dollars in my bank account. I want it for my children’s sake, for my family, for when I’m retired so we can still live a good life.”
Bisping went on to say that he’d happily defend his crown against No. 1 ranked MW contender Yoel Romero after disposing of GSP.
“That’s why I’m doing it. Not because I’m trying to rob the UFC, or rob the fans of the No. 1 contender, or do wrong to Yoel Romero. I want it for my family’s sake. So in a perfect world, I fight Georges St-Pierre, I will beat Georges St-Pierre, I will not be injured in that fight Georges because Georges never injures anybody in a fight, and then I will do a quick turnaround, within six weeks I will fight Yoel Romero. That’s what he wants, that’s what he’ll get. I’ll guarantee you right now, hand on my heart.”
UFC president Dana White said that St-Pierre is officially back with the promotion, but ‘Rush’ says it isn’t a done deal.
Bisping last fought at UFC 204 in Manchester, England, where he beat old rival Dan Henderson via unanimous decision to retain the 185-pound title. The 37-year-old MMA veteran is expected to return in May at the earliest.
About the author
