Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal have developed an unexpected feud over the past year. From backstage shouting matches to heated hotel clashes, “Count” and “Gamebred” have tangled on more than one occasion.
Now it seems as if the two outspoken mixed martial artists collided in a third meeting late last year, which few combat fans probably knew about it. According to Masvidal, who spoke with Jason Kindschy on a recent episode of BJ Penn Radio, he had another high-octane confrontation with Bisping while the two were in China this past November.
Here is Masvidal’s complete recollection:
“We had another incident actually in China, which not too many people know about. So we were in China and [Bisping] got knocked out by [Kelvin] Gastelum, and I’m not going to fuck with nobody who just got knocked out, especially the way he did. It was like the Holy Ghost left his body, you know?”
“So I see him coming through the lobby, I was with numerous fans taking pictures and so I [turn] my back [to him]. I’m like ‘I don’t even want to see this dude right now’ but I’m not going to just run away either, and leave the fans hanging. I just got back to my hotel and people are forming a line, I’m going to give them the pictures that they want. So I got my back to him and I see him out of the corner of my eye, and I’m trying to like turn away so he doesn’t see my face. Just like a side-profile or something. But he comes right up to my face, sticks his middle finger in my face and starts going ‘fuck you, fuck you, piece of shit, you low-life, you ain’t shit man.’
“[He] starts to walk away, and I immediately lost my shit and I went after him and [UFC VP of Athlete Development] Reed Harris and company got in between us, and the UFC security. He did the whole show and stuff, talking shit while he’s backing up, getting into the elevator… I’m like why do all that when nothing comes out of it you know? You could have just sent me a message and told me hey lets meet at the workout room and talk about this, but he’s just not going to do that, you know?”
“So I immediately send him a message, and I ended up posting it online because he’s such a punk, letting him know ‘man, stop disrespecting me every time you see me, just be man about it. Pick a place and lets go and lets fucking do it like men. Why are we talking? We both can fight to some degree—I don’t think he can fight for shit, but he claims to be a fighter—lets just go and scrap it out. That way we stop flirting with each other online.’”
Despite getting knocked out by Kelvin Gastelum just three weeks after getting choked out by Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217, Bisping apparently felt good enough to still approach Masvidal backstage at UFC Fight Night 122, as well as other locations during his stop over in China.
“I saw him like four different times in China,” said Masvidal. “One time, he’s with his wife and his kids, and I see him and I immediately cut a right, trying to get away. He’s like ‘yeah you better walk away you punk!’
“I turn around, and I’m like ‘I didn’t say nothing cause you’re with your family, but you’re such an idiot man.’ And he’s like ‘fuck you, you don’t need to do me no favors!’ And I just walked away…”
While the two UFC fighters are unlikely to lock horns considering their difference in weight and Bisping’s impending retirement, Masvidal is still open to settling the score outside of the cage. Wherever the action may take place, “Gamebred” is confident that Bisping would get punked.
“It could be in a McDonald’s parking lot, I don’t give three fucks, bro,” Masvidal said. “He knows it, he’s just a punk man.”