At 43 years old with a multitude of nagging injuries, Michael Bisping says he’s open to the idea of fighting Jake Paul.
Last June, former UFC middleweight champion and Hall-of-Famer Michael Bisping first revealed a $500,000 offer to fight Jake Paul. But as we all saw, nothing ever came to fruition.
“The Count” had been respectful and complimentary towards the “Problem Child” in the succeeding months, but as of January, the gamesmanship was back on. Most recently, the 25-year-old viral sensation posted this Twitter video targeting Bisping.
Dear @bisping,
I challenge you to stop hosting your struggling podcast, get licensed to fight, and box me.
Let’s see if that UFC belt and all the respect you have can help you beat me in a boxing match. pic.twitter.com/9Bv0bDTK1E
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) April 17, 2022
It didn’t take long for Bisping to respond. In a recent video he uploaded on his Youtube channel, the 43-year-old Bisping said this.
“I’m happily retired. I’m very, very happily retired. But I do miss the thrill of competition. And I don’t see Jake Paul as necessarily a threat,” he said.
“I retired from fighting because I only had one eye. I didn’t want to risk my other eye. In boxing, bigger gloves, against Jake Paul. As I say, I don’t really see him as a threat. Jake Paul, beating you up sounds like fun.”
Given his current physical condition brought on by the wars he went through over the years, Bisping knows he may not get a license to fight in the US. But as he also said, “the world is our oyster.”
“This fight’s never gonna happen, but I’ll tell you what? Jake, if you’re watching, if you wanna throw down, if you wanna step in the squared circle with me, I’ll oblige. I will do it, it sounds like fun. It gives me a reason to train, get in shape,” he said.
“Give me a few months (to) lose a couple of pounds, and let’s go, baby. No problem. Only thing is, I won’t get sanctioned. I doubt one of the athletic commissions would let me right now because I used to lie about my eye. But that secret’s out. The cat’s out of the bag.
“But, there’s lots of places where they will not care. Lots of places where they don’t give a shit. What about Dubai? Dubai seems to be hosting a lot of fights, let’s go to Dubai.
“What about an Indian Reservation? No problem there. Lots of countries in Europe, Africa, China… the world is our oyster. There’s not athletic commissions everywhere, I’m pretty sure we can find a place that would allow us to throw down.”
Bisping went on to backtrack his statement and even suggested Tommy Fury as Paul’s next opponent. But based on his parting shot, it does look like a part of him is itching to make the fight happen.
“Am I joking? A little bit. Am I serious? Maybe a little bit. If you are serious, if you wanna do it, send an email. You’ve done it once before. Tell your manager to send me an email,” he said.
“Listen, mate. You’re a young man, you’re in your prime. Fight a young man in your prime. You wanna fight a 43-year-old with one eye and no knees, hey, buddy, let’s go.
“Send location. Send a contract. Send something, rather than just talking on Teddy Atlas’s podcast.”
Bisping hasn’t fought since 2017 when he was knocked out by Kelvin Gastelum in Shanghai, China. Paul, meanwhile, is coming off a sensational knockout win over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley in their rematch last December.