UFC middleweight and one of the most recent head coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Bisping spoke with Ariel Helwani recently on his show The MMA Hour.
As to be expected, Bisping spoke about his thoughts on the current title picture at 185 pounds.
“The Count” lived up to his reputation of being one of the most outspoken fighters in the game today, and The Fifth Round provided a transcription of some of the highlights.
When speaking about the most relevant middleweight bout coming up, Chael Sonnen versus Brian Stann at UFC 136 in a title eliminator, Bisping was not very supportive of either Sonnen or Stann being that close to a title shot.
“You can’t believe a word that comes out of Chael Sonnen’s mouth. The guy lives on another planet to you and me,” Bisping said.
Bisping, who was once sympathetic towards Sonnen’s problems outside of the cage, summed up the fellow middleweights recent struggles in a few words.
The Count conveniently left out the element of compassion this time around.
“I think it’s complete bull****. You got Chael Sonnen, who just fought the champ, cheated, took steroids and got submitted.”
Harsh words from Bisping, but after Sonnen ripped his British counterpart after being awarded a coaching spot on TUF, it seems safe to say all professional courtesy went out the window.
Despite being on a three-fight win streak since dropping to middleweight, Bisping also could not find a reason to endorse “The All-American” Brian Stann being in the title picture.
“Brian Stann, his biggest win is against a guy I beat three years ago and wiped the floor with,” Bisping proclaimed.
For those unaware, the common opponent Bisping speaks of is Chris Leben.
However, it’s worth noting that Bisping won a unanimous decision, while Stann earned a rare knockout win over “The Crippler.”
Bisping is also on a three-fight win streak, but he still believes that he is a bigger threat in the division than Brian Stann.
“Brian Stann, you know, the guy he’s doing well. He’s making some noise. He’s putting together a good win streak, but I’ve been around longer. I’ve beaten more guys and I think I deserve my chance,” Bisping explained.
At a different portion of the interview, Bisping did admit that despite the bad blood, he still would have preferred to coach TUF opposite Chael Sonnen, since a win over Sonnen could very well grant Bisping a title shot.
A win over Jason “Mayhem” Miller would likely not move Bisping very far up in the division, and the former TUF winner acknowledged that.
“Does a win over Jason Miller earn me a title shot? I don’t think so,” Bisping stated. “I don’t think Miller necessarily is the big name that’s gonna do it,” adding that consistently winning big fights and beating good guys should have him in the title picture anyway.
Bisping did not have anything bad to say about reigning middleweight champion Anderson Silva, but he certainly had no problem ripping his most recent opponent, Yushin Okami.
“Anderson Silva’s proven time and time again that he’s the best in the world, and I’d agree with that. But I think I’d do a much better job than what Yushin Okami did,” Bisping said.
“To be honest, I think my 8-year-old son would do a much better job than what Yushin Okami did.”
Okami was TKO’ed in the second round of his title fight with Silva at UFC 134, looking tentative and showcasing basically no offense before the ref stoppage.
Mayhem Miller and Bisping will headline the season 14 finale of The Ultimate Fighter on December 3 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, Nevada.
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