UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping appeared recently on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour for a compelling interview. The Count is currently recovering from knee surgery and is believed to be fighting Yoel Romero next.
Odds are it’s going to be Yoel Romero, my next fight, said Bisping, as transcribed by Shaun Al-Shatti for MMA Fighting. That’s what I’m assuming. I’ve had no further dialogue with the UFC, but I know that Georges [St-Pierre], his trainer [Jorge Blanco] told me recently that they’re pretty much at an agreement with the UFC, so the deal is almost done and he wants to fight me. I am the fight that they’re targeting, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. As of right now, I would assume that Yoel is my next opponent, but there’s always that wild card.
However, the former Cuban Olympian claims the UFC is trying to make a fight between the pair on May 13 at UFC 211 in Dallas, Texas.
I don’t know if he’s making it up, but I have not been told the same, said Bisping. I was offered a bout agreement [for] April 8th, and I needed knee surgery. I’m still limping around right now, I’m in a lot of pain still. I’m lifting weights, just upper body because that’s all I can do. But I haven’t heard anything about May. I guess that timing would work. I’m assuming that would work. What’s that, 12 weeks away? I think, hopefully, another month and I’ll be able to train properly. That potentially could work. But formally, and hand-to-my-heart, I have not been approached about that date by the UFC.
What Bisping wants is a payday big enough to retire on.
“Dana’s always been very fair to me,” said Bisping, as transcribed by Adam Guillen Jr. for MMA Mania. “Dana’s always treated me with respect and this and that. I’ve always been happy with the amount of money I’ve been getting paid. But, now I see we’re in a new age of UFC and I see gigantic paydays going around that I have never been a part of.
“I’ve done well, don’t get me wrong, I’ve done very well, but I see a lot of other people making a lot more money. And that does piss me off a little bit. I’m not talking s*** about UFC, they’ve always paid me well and I’ve been happy with my pay. I just would like to be a part of one of the gigantic cards before I retire. That’s all, just so I can get a big gigantic payday I can retire on.
“Could I retire now? No I can’t. UFC has paid me well and I have no qualms. I’ve always signed contracts and at the time I’ve always been happy signing those contracts. But I see Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor getting $3 million guaranteed plus pay-per-view (PPV), so that’s a $10 million payday. I’ve never had a $10 million payday. I’ve never had a $1 million payday. So, yeah, of course, that’s why I want the money fights, who doesn’t? I’ve done this my entire life, dedicated myself to this sport, you have to earn it and I feel like I’ve earned it. I’m the world champion, I want to be a part of the biggest fights. That said, it’s a business, you create your own hype and people tune in.”
Bisping also discussed the recently bitter Twitter quarrel that spilled over when Romero called in on Bisping’s SiriusXM show.
I don’t believe that it’s actually him writing the tweets, said Bisping. The guy can hardly speak English, but yet he seems to able to tweet it perfectly with the perfect punctuation, apostrophes, et cetera. And I really don’t believe that he has the wit. Look at him, the guy is knucklehead. He’s only a couple of DNA strands away from — he’s a barbarian. He’s a knucklehead. Come on, he hasn’t got wit. He hasn’t got humor. He called into my radio show last week, The Countdown. … I tried to have an intelligent discussion with this guy and all he could do was scream and shout and then hang up the phone.
This guy, he’s got rocks for brains.
The day before the call in, Romero’s camp trolled Bisping by setting up a GoFundMe to cover Bisping’s expenses after the pair fight.
I get it, said Bisping. It’s a decent stab, an attempt to stir the pot, so to speak. I’ll say first and foremost, I think there’s $200 in that pot. I’ll take that $200, thank you. I’ll go get a nice massage after I whoop his ass, when that day comes. Because make no mistake, that day will come. I’ll use that $200 to go for a nice massage, so thank you Yoel, I appreciate that. On a more serious note, GoFundMe pages do fantastic work for people who need help, so it was a little distasteful, him using that to mock me. I’m currently using a GoFundMe page to help a young child beat cancer for a fourth time, and thankfully Leo the Lion, we raised the money. So GoFundMe pages are great things, so I don’t know … poor taste.”
The GoFundMe that Bisping referenced is HERE. It has currently raised aproximately half the money needed for the operation.
Bisping said he hopes to fight in June or July.
I have the belt. And everybody wants to fight for the belt, everybody wants to be the champion, said Bisping. Of course they do, that’s part of the reason why we do this, and I totally get it. The reality of the situation is I can’t fight everybody at the same time. I can’t do that. So regardless of who I fight, there’s always going to be someone pissed off. People are talking s*** about me. Where’s Luke Rockhold since I knocked him out? Has he come back and fought? No. People aren’t talking s*** about him. ‘Jacare’ wasn’t exactly the most busy person. He comes back and fights No. 13 ranked Tim Boestch. He did a great job, but he did what he should’ve done against Tim Boestch, no disrespect to Tim Boestch.
There’s always going to be someone pissed off. Yoel Romero said he’s going to be pissed off, he’s calling me out. I can’t fight everybody on the same night. Fingers crossed, I get through them, I’ll happily fight them one by one. I’ve never turned anyone down. I’ve paid my dues to this sport. I’ve fought everybody. I’ve fought people on short notice. I’ve saved cards. I’ve fought people who we all knew were on goddamn steroids at the time, and I still took those fights, and I went out there and fought and I went out on my shield. I did my best all that time, and now I’ve got the belt, and now I’ve got a little bit of say in the matter. That’s all it is.
And if you don’t like it, tough s***. That is the prize of being world champion. If you don’t like it, kiss my ass, because I have the belt and I do get a say. And that’s why I said to Yoel Romero: until I decide to fight you, you are my little b****. Now go roll me a cigar.
Image via Follow Michael Bisping on Instagram
