(Jeez…relax, Tim. It’s not like you rolled a ball into some pins or anything.)
Following his monumental comeback win over Yushin Okami at UFC 144 — you know, the one that made Joe Rogan soak his seat? — Tim Boetsch respectfully called out Michael Bisping, telling MMA Junkie Radio: “I had wanted to fight [Bisping] even when we were both back at light heavyweight. I’ve had an eye on him…For some reason, I think Bisping rubs a lot of people the wrong way. That’s not the reason I want to fight him, though. I want to fight him because he’s ranked higher than me. I think I can take that from him…I like being the underdog. I like going into somebody else’s house and knowing everybody wants the other guy to win…That fires me up and gets me excited.”
At the time, we let this little tidbit pass us by without mention because come on, Bisping vs. Boetsch? It’s exactly the kind of fight that the Count would turn up his well-bred nose at. But according to the UFC, it’s actually happening. The fight is slated to be on the main card of UFC 148 (July 7th, Las Vegas), which already features Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le, and a cruel bantamweight mismatch between Renan Barao and Jeff Hougland.
For Tim Boetsch (now 3-0 as a UFC middleweight), the July matchup is a chance to launch himself in the upper ranks of MMA competition for the first time in his five-year career. For Michael Bisping, it’s yet another opportunity to insult a surging veteran for not being on his level before inevitably kicking the snot out of him. (See also: Jason Miller, Jorge Rivera.) Bisping’s last performance, a unanimous decision loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2, snapped a four-fight win streak for the Count. He’s never lost two consecutive fights in his entire career. Let the colorfully-accented trash-talk begin…