With Whittaker out, GSP pushing for Bisping, again
Michael Bisping: “I don’t see a reason why this shouldn’t happen. Fingers crossed my friend we get to do this at the end of the year.”
“The harder I train, the luckier I get.”
-Renzo Gracie
Michael Bisping was not expected to beat then UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold on short notice, but he did. They say you don’t really hold the title until you have defended it, and the top of middleweight was thick with sharks and no way would The Count defend successfully, but he did, vs. Dan Henderson.
Then there was no way Bisping would successfully defend it twice. But welterweight G.O.A.T. Georges St-Pierre who had not fought since 2013 returned, wanted a shot at The Count, and Bisping was likely the favorite. However, after extended negotiations, GSP couldn’t fight soon enough, so Bisping was to get the winner of surging newcomer Robert Whittaker vs. aging monster Yoel Romero. Bisping was not favored to beat either.
However, Michael Bisping shares the record for most fights in the UFC, and holds the record for most wins. The longer he fights, the luckier he gets. Whittaker injured his knee in training, and reinjured it during the Romero fight and is out for a while. Now GSP wants back in, as he made clear during a call in to Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast.
Sometimes in sports the misfortune of people makes the good luck of others,” said St-Pierre, as transcribed by Damon Martin for MMA Weekly. “That’s what happened in this case. I had an injury, you had an injury, which created an opportunity for the other guy but the other guy Robert Whittaker had bad luck, he had an injury. It put us back into the initial situation we were in.
It’s up to Dana White, I texted Dana, he knows I want to fight you. Hopefully if the boss wants, the fight’s going to happen. I think the fans want to see this fight.
For myself, I invest myself a lot in this. I was following a diet and everything. I hired a dietician and I spent a lot of time, money and energy on this. That’s why it was frustrating for me when I heard the fight was not going to happen.
But like I said the misfortune of Robert Whittaker unfortunately, I like him, he’s a very nice guy, he got an injury. I never wish anyone bad luck but because of his misfortune perhaps that puts us back right in the initial situation where we were supposed to fight each other, which I hope will happen. Hopefully November.
The UFC is believed to be holding a card on November 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York. GSP wants on, and Bisping is game.
The interim champion now is sidelined, said Bisping. I don’t see a reason why this shouldn’t happen. Fingers crossed my friend we get to do this at the end of the year.