Michael Bisping has a message for Georges St-Pierre ahead of their middleweight title clash later this year.
St-Pierre’s Octagon return was confirmed last week when the Canadian signed a multi-fight deal that would bring him back home to the UFC. Yesterday (Wed. March 1, 2017) UFC President Dana White joined SportsCenter to announce that ‘GSP’ will be returning against Michael Bisping for the 185-pound title.
During last night’s episode of UFC Tonight (quotes via MMA Fighting) Bisping got the opportunity to respond to the news of his upcoming fight with ‘Rush’, who he claims is underestimating him based on their experiences over a decade ago in the practice room:
“He chose me because he thinks he can beat me,” Bisping said. “I trained with him 11 years ago and he outwrestled me. Now back then I was a kickboxer from England, I didn’t know a double leg from a double decker bus. But every time we trained he’d take me down. He thinks I’m still that guy. He thinks I’m an easy opponent, an easy pick. He picked me to come out of retirement, moving up a weight class, it’s almost like he has nothing to lose, but if he moves up a weight class, he beats me, he becomes a legend.”
Bisping’s match-up against St-Pierre leaves No. 1-ranked middleweight Yoel Romero in the dust scratching his head, as he earned the next shot at the 185-pound throne by defeating Chris Weidman with a flying knee at UFC 205. ‘The Count’ justified his decision by claiming he deserves this money fight against St-Pierre, not only for the financial benefits, but for what it could do for his legacy:
“I know there are people out there who are criticizing me,” Bisping said. “Saying I should fight the number one contender, guys like Yoel Romero, and they’re absolutely right. But, put the question right back to you: If you are Yoel Romero, or Luke Rockhold, or Jacare [Souza] or any of these guys. If you were offered a fight with GSP, I know for a fact you’re going to take that fight. So why shouldn’t I do the same? I deserve this payoff, I deserve this fight, not only for the payday, I want this fight for my legacy.”
The middleweight champ then laid out the timetable of events that eventually led to he and St-Pierre’s pairing, stating that the bout was initially offered to him this past October, however, ‘Rush’ wasn’t able to come to terms with the UFC at the time. He was offered the bout once more about a week ago and didn’t hesitate to say yes:
“This fight offered to me last October, but the fight didn’t come to fruition,” Bisping said. “Because Georges I believe couldn’t come to terms with the UFC. So I tried to put this fight out of my mind, started to think about the next contenders in the UFC. Of course, I got a phone call about a week ago saying the fight is back on the table, Georges wants to fight you and it’s a big fight. Of course I said yes, Georges St-Pierre is a legendary fighter, he’s had one of the best careers, if not the best career, in the history of the sport.”
In his current five-fight win streak Bisping has toppled over names such as Anderson Silva, Luke Rockhold, and longtime rival Dan Henderson. Bisping’s first round knockout win over Rockhold won him his first career UFC title after over a decade in the promotion.
If ‘The Count’ is able to pull off a huge upset and down his Canadian foe when they meet inside the Octagon, he knows it would be a massive exclamation point on his near 13 year mixed martial arts (MMA) career:
“I have nothing but respect for Georges,” said Bisping. “For me, beating Georges St-Pierre, beating Anderson Silva, beating Dan Henderson, beating Luke Rockhold, for me, it really puts an exclamation point on my career.”
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