Michael Bisping recently mentioned that he would not be opposed to reprising his role as coach on The Ultimate Fighter sometime soon, but it seems he is now setting his sights a bit higher.
ESPN reported earlier today that the Count believes he may be on the precipice of fighting for UFC gold. That is, if Chael Sonnen defeats Anderson Silva this July at UFC 148.
Bisping recounts a conversation he had with UFC president Dana White after he lost a hotly contested decision to Sonnen earlier this year.
“I asked, ‘Where does this leave me for the title shot?’ And [White] never said you don’t get one. He said, ‘We need to figure it out’.”
The Brit goes on to mention a talk he had with Joe Silva on a similar subject matter.
“When speaking to Joe Silva, he said it all depends on what happens between Sonnen and Anderson. He said if Anderson wins, I might be sitting around for a while.”
So why is Bisping’s position on the the middleweight ladder so dependent on the outcome of the Sonnen-Silva match?
One possibility is that the UFC believes that a rematch between Bisping and Sonnen would be an easy sell, whereas an opponent for Silva could be drawn from one of Brian Stann, Mark Munoz, Vitor Belfort or Hector Lombard.
In that same vein, Bisping explains that Dana White told him that he believes the judges awarding Sonnen a win in the January contest between he and the Count made an error. Thus, a rematch could provide some measure of justice in the eyes of the promotion.
While the situation seems very uncertain at this point, we now know that Chael Sonnen will have at least one big supporter when he faces off with Anderson Silva this July.
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