Michael Bisping wants to get in one more fight before 2016 is over, and he has Nick Diaz in his sights.
After a callout of former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre fell flat, Bisping appeared on his own SiriusXM Rush radio show Thursday to offer Diaz a middleweight title shot for UFC 206. "The Count" is looking for an opponent who will draw the most eyeballs as he waits for the other contenders in his division to sort themselves out.
"If it's not going to be GSP, I don't mind being on the card against somebody else and Nick Diaz would be somebody else that moves the needle," Bisping said, according to Damon Martin of FOX Sports. "Now I know I'm going to open myself up to criticism by saying that but there's been talk of us having a fight before.
"His last fight was against Anderson Silva so he's fought at 185 and if Nick Diaz wants to do it, I'll fight Nick Diaz."
Diaz only recently became active again after serving an 18-month suspension for a failed drug test related to marijuana use, though he remains one of MMA's most popular fighters. The former Strikeforce welterweight champion hasn't won a fight since defeating BJ Penn five years ago at UFC 137.
A middleweight title shot for the 33-year-old Diaz has upside from an intrigue standpoint, but could face scrutiny, especially after Bisping's last fight against Dan Henderson. Then ranked No. 13, Henderson leapfrogged several other contenders to get a crack at Bisping, much to the chagrin of top middleweights like Luke Rockhold and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.
Bisping won a unanimous decision over Henderson in a fight that left the champ's face badly damaged, but that hasn't stopped Bisping from wanting to get back in the cage sooner rather than later. Right now, his plan is to get onto the Toronto card on Dec. 10 and then deal with his rivals next year.
"If Nick Diaz wants to go at UFC 206, formally, officially, I invite you to sign the bout agreement, let's do it," Bisping said. "Then after that, whoever wins more impressively of these top four middleweights, you know who we're talking about - Rockhold, (Chris) Weidman, Yoel (Romero), and Souza - I'll fight whoever that is after this. That will happen 100 percent.
"Believe you me, I want to fight Chris Weidman. Out of the four of them, I've already beat Rockhold, Weidman is the one that I want to fight. I ain't ducking anyone."
