Bisping's ideal scenario: Fight GSP, then Romero
Michael Bisping has issued his detractors a pointed reminder that being a world champion has its perks.
In a Monday appearance on "The MMA Hour," the reigning middleweight king unveiled a tentative plan for the twilight of his career. The 37-year-old is currently recovering from knee surgery, and is hoping to add another coveted scalp to his resume in welterweight great Georges St-Pierre before taking on challenger-in-waiting Yoel Romero.
"I would like to face Georges St-Pierre, beat Georges St-Pierre, then I've beaten all the legends. I've beaten Dan Henderson, I've beaten Anderson Silva, I've beaten Georges St-Pierre, and then face the No. 1 contender Yoel Romero. That would be my perfect scenario," Bisping told host Ariel Helwani.
The champ campaigned for the superfight shortly after defending his title against Dan Henderson at UFC 204, but St-Pierre's ongoing legal standoff with the promotion reportedly kept the matchup from materializing. Responding to Romero's recent claims he expected to face him at UFC 211 in May, "The Count" said the brass had yet to offer him the date.
Bisping's pursuit of lucrative dates with the likes of GSP and Tyron Woodley might have drawn the ire of MMA purists, but as he told Helwani, he only sought the booking because the UFC had planted the seed.
"The only reason I'm saying Georges St-Pierre is because I know he wants to fight me and I was offered a fight with him. That's the only reason he's in my mind. If I wasn't offered a fight with him in (late 2016), I wouldn't be thinking Georges St-Pierre, but that just got that carrot dangled in front of my face, of a several million-dollar payday. Call me stupid, but I want that fucking carrot."
The Brit has irked more than a few traditionalists with his newly adopted M.O., as Romero and fellow contenders Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Chris Weidman have repeatedly accused him of ducking them. The way Bisping sees it, his record 20 UFC victories and the title that graces his shoulder have earned him the right to keep his own counsel, and he stated as much in quintessentially Bisping-esque fashion.
"I've never turned anyone down. I've paid my dues in this sport. I've fought everybody. I've fought people on short notice, I've saved cards, I've fought people that we all knew were on God damn steroids at the time and I still took those fights. I went out there and I went out on my shield. I did my best.
"All that time, and now I've got the belt, and I get a little bit of say in the matter. That's all it is, and if you don't like it, tough shit. That is the prize of being world champion, and if you don't like it, kiss my ass, because I have got the belt, and I do get a say, and that's what I said to Yoel Romero. Until I decide to fight you, you are my little bitch, now go roll me a cigar."