Michael Bisping: 'An Interim Belt Is A Joke'
Michael Bisping: 'An Interim Belt Is A Joke'
Reigning UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping shares his thoughts on the road ahead before retirement.
Michael Bisping has crafted a remarkable run through mixed martial arts.
The brash-talking Englishman emerged as an early winner of The Ultimate Fighter when the reality-based fighting program was a powerhouse, and parlayed that momentum into a championship run filled with resilience and grit. Nevertheless, “The Count” can see the end of his time inside the cage on the horizon, and has started to plot his future exit from the sport.
According to an interview with ODDSbible, the UFC middleweight champion is still eyeing a potential matchup with former welterweight king Georges St-Pierre in late 2017, before giving it one last go inside the Octagon on his native soil.
“If that fight [with St-Pierre] happens in November or December then after I beat him, one more fight in England. My last fight would have to be here, the fans have always got behind me, every step of the way. I'm not saying 100 percent it'll be my final fight, but I can't fight forever. I'm in a good place right now but who knows.”
With contenders Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker squaring off for the interim title in the 185-pound division this summer at UFC 213, that would provide a solid time line for Bisping’s plan to come to fruition. And while there will be a championship strip strap on the line when the Cuban powerhouse and the upstart Aussie collide in Las Vegas, Bisping doesn’t give much credence to any other gold than the one in his possession.
“It doesn't mean anything; interim belts aren't worth the leather they're printed on,” Bisping said. “An interim belt is a joke, I defended the belt in October and I've had a bit of a knee issue, but it's the UFC's decision, and if they want to do that, then good for them! All it does is solidify who the number one contender is.
“They've got to sell pay-per-views. Dana asked me to fight in July, which I said I couldn't as I'd had two knee surgeries at the start of the year and the recovery time hasn't gone to plan. It's taking longer than expected so he asked did I mind an interim title fight so I said do what you've got to do. It doesn't bother me.”
The brash-talking Englishman emerged as an early winner of The Ultimate Fighter when the reality-based fighting program was a powerhouse, and parlayed that momentum into a championship run filled with resilience and grit. Nevertheless, “The Count” can see the end of his time inside the cage on the horizon, and has started to plot his future exit from the sport.
According to an interview with ODDSbible, the UFC middleweight champion is still eyeing a potential matchup with former welterweight king Georges St-Pierre in late 2017, before giving it one last go inside the Octagon on his native soil.
“If that fight [with St-Pierre] happens in November or December then after I beat him, one more fight in England. My last fight would have to be here, the fans have always got behind me, every step of the way. I'm not saying 100 percent it'll be my final fight, but I can't fight forever. I'm in a good place right now but who knows.”
With contenders Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker squaring off for the interim title in the 185-pound division this summer at UFC 213, that would provide a solid time line for Bisping’s plan to come to fruition. And while there will be a championship strip strap on the line when the Cuban powerhouse and the upstart Aussie collide in Las Vegas, Bisping doesn’t give much credence to any other gold than the one in his possession.
“It doesn't mean anything; interim belts aren't worth the leather they're printed on,” Bisping said. “An interim belt is a joke, I defended the belt in October and I've had a bit of a knee issue, but it's the UFC's decision, and if they want to do that, then good for them! All it does is solidify who the number one contender is.
“They've got to sell pay-per-views. Dana asked me to fight in July, which I said I couldn't as I'd had two knee surgeries at the start of the year and the recovery time hasn't gone to plan. It's taking longer than expected so he asked did I mind an interim title fight so I said do what you've got to do. It doesn't bother me.”