Michael Bisping has been on the shelf since his contest against Chael Sonnen in January earlier this year. Bisping was originally scheduled to face Tim Boetsch but a knee injury forced the Englishman out of the fight.
Now Bisping is set to face All-American hero Brian Stann later this month at UFC 152 on Sept. 22. Bisping took some time to answer a few questions for BJPenn.com pertaining to that fight along with his opinion of how the Jon Jones fiasco went down.
Bisping shared his confidence in his training camp and specifically the health of his knee.
“It’s still a little sore, every now and then, but it’s not generally giving me any problems. Camp is going great. Everything’s fantastic. Weight’s good. I’m in great shape. I’m ready to do some damage on September 22nd,” he said.
It’s good that Bisping‘s knee is good because he will need to utilize his footwork to avoid the one-punch KO power of Stann—a fact not lost on the middleweight contender.
“Everyone knows he’s a big, powerful, striker, and that’s what I’ve got to look out for. I think, technically, I’ve got him beat. I’m better on the feet. I’m better on the ground. But, obviously, that one-punch knockout power is the thing I’ve got to look out for,” Bisping said.
Bisping had been critical of the light heavyweight champion Jones in the past week but was was complimentary of him at first when discussing the UFC 151 fallout.
“It’s hard for me to judge Jon Jones. He’s a hell of a fighter, and he’ll go down in history as the youngest champion ever. He’s incredible…”
That’s about as far as Bisping got to complimenting the champion. The Englishman had been outspoken about how he faced Sonnen on only eight days notice and said much of the same while discrediting Jones’ place as champion.
“Listen. When you’re the champion, when you’re the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the world, you gotta take fights.He was offered a fight against Chael Sonnen on eight days notice. I, personally, was offered a fight against Chael Sonnen on eight days notice. I chose to take that fight. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know what those facts say. Maybe it means I’m a badass. I took the fight. I’m just confused as to why Jon Jones didn’t. I think it’s a fight Jones would have won. Obviously, he would have been in better shape than Chael. He’s been preparing for that night, so it’s a little confusing.”
It sounds like Bisping is on the same train of thought as many MMA fans about Jones and his refusal to take the fight.
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