UFC President Dana White has publicly stated on several occasions it is difficult finding fighters who are willing to face Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Apparently, Michael Bisping is on the list of those who have no interest in meeting “The Alligator” inside the cage.
Or at least that’s the story coming from Souza’s camp. Bisping, on the other hand, says such an offer never came his way.
After the former Strikeforce middleweight champion turned UFC contender’s upcoming opponent Yoel Romero was forced out of their co-main event tilt at UFC on Fox 15 due to injury, the promotion set about scrambling for a replacement. The UFC was intent to keep the Brazilian grappling ace on the card in Newark, New Jersey, and offered the fight up to a multitude of middleweights. Per a report from Combate (h/t Lucas Rezende of Bloody Elbow), Souza specifically asked for Bisping to be moved into the fight, but allegedly, “The Count” wasn’t having any of it.
The feared submission artist’s manager, Gilberto Faria, told the news site the brash-talking Brit declined the offer to fight Souza at UFC on Fox 15 and decided to keep his upcoming bout with C.B. Dollaway at UFC 186 on April 25 intact. With Bisping putting in a full training camp to face “The Doberman” in Montreal, Souza’s camp thought he would be the ideal choice but claim The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner had different feelings on the matter.
Ultimately, the UFC tapped gritty veteran Chris Camozzi to the Octagon, and the Colorado native will get his rematch and shot at redemption this Saturday night in Newark.
Faria had this to say, per Rezende:
I think Chris Camozzi showed he is a warrior to take on Jacare like that. I’m actually surprised with his attitude, because he’s getting in trouble. I asked for Michael Bisping, because he’s fighting on the same week as Jacare, but Bisping doesn’t want any of it. He is always talking about how he wants to get to the top and fight for the belt, but when the opportunity presented itself, he didn’t want to fight. If he beats Jacare, he fights for the belt next, but he didn’t want to take the risk, he prefers to fight C.B. Dollaway.
It didn’t take long for news of Bisping supposedly turning down the fight with Souza to spread across the MMA community. Word of the situation eventually reached the scrappy Englishman, who wasted no time posting his response to the claims made against him. The perennial middleweight contender took to his Instagram account (h/t Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting) to shed light on how things did or didn’t go down in regard to fighting Souza.
Bisping is adamant he never received a call from the UFC about fighting Souza, claiming that, had that offer actually come his way, it is one he would have taken. He even went as far as challenging Souza to step into the Octagon once their respective fights are done, and he made it clear he would be up to settling their business once the Brazilian powerhouse is ready to get back into the cage.
Bisping posted this to his Instagram account, via Cruz:
Jacare’s manager has said I turned down a fight with Jacare. And now it is the headline on all the MMA websites. ‘Bisping was offered Jacare fight but turned it down’ that is complete b——t. The fight was never offered, the UFC didn’t talk to me at all. I have signed a contract to fight in Montreal on the 25th but if the UFC asked me, I would of done it. Just like I have every time the UFC asked me to step up.
Jacare is a great fighter, but his manager doesn’t need to tell lies to make him sounds like a bad ass. Have a word with him Jacare, he’s full of s–t. Oh, and by the way. When we both get these fights out the way, let’s do it!
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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