Bisping: I deserve this fight and payday vs. GSP

When it was announced that UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping’s next fight would be vs. a returning Georges St-Pierre, complaints were voiced from some quarters that for the second fight in a row, The Count had avoided the #1 contender. However, during tonight’s episode of UFC Tonight Bisping told fellow co-host Kenny Florian that the fight was driven by the UFC and GSP, not the champ.

I know there’s people out there who are going to criticize this, said Bisping, as transcribed by Damon Martin for FOX Sports. Saying that I should fight the No. 1 contender, guys like Yoel Romero, and they’re absolutely right but I’ll put this question to you right now. If you are Yoel Romero or Luke Rockhold or ‘Jacare’ or any of these guys, if you were offered a fight with GSP, I know for a fact that you’re going to take that fight so why shouldn’t I do the same?

I deserve this payday. I deserve this fight. Not only to do with the payday, I want this fight for my legacy. I’ve beat Dan Henderson. I’ve beat Anderson Silva. Georges St-Pierre is also another legend that I want to add to my resume.

I get a phone call a week ago from Dana White saying ‘listen, the fight’s back on the table, Georges wants to fight you’. It’s a big fight. Now of course I said yes. Georges St-Pierre’s a legendary fighter. He’s had one of the best career if not the best careers in the history of the sport. He was a dominant welterweight champion for a long, long time. Fought so many people, beat so many people and he’s one of the biggest proven pay-per-view draws that the company’s ever seen so of course taking this fight was an absolute no-brainer.

He chose me because he thinks he can beat me. Me and Georges trained together a long time ago, eleven years ago and Georges out wrestled me. Now back then I was a kickboxer from England. I didn’t know a double leg from a double decker bus. Every time we trained, he would take me down and he thinks I’m still that guy.

He thinks I’m an easy opponent, an easy pick. He’s picked me to come back out of retirement, moving up a weight class, it’s almost like he’s got nothing to lose but if he moves up a weight class, beats me, he becomes a legend.

I’ve got nothing but respect for Georges. As I just mentioned, I’ve known him for a long time. For me, beating Georges, beating Anderson Silva, beating Dan Henderson, beating Luke Rockhold, beating all these great guys for me it really just puts an exclamation mark on my career. I mean Georges St-Pierre is a legend and for good reason and if I go out there, I beat him, it looks great on my resume, looks great on my career and when I’m done, when I’m retired, I’ll be a happy man.

Although the fight has been announced, no date or place is set.