Bisping to fight 'at least' once more after UFC 217

Michael Bisping's end is not as near as we thought.

After recently revealing that next Saturday's tilt against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217 might be his last, the middleweight champion changed his tune on a Thursday conference call, stating he'll have "at least" one more fight in him after squaring off with GSP at Madison Square Garden.

"I did say in the buildup that this could be my last fight," Bisping said, according to Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighitng. "My wife and some people close to me - you know I’ve done this forever. I’ve been a fighter ever since I was a kid, I’ve been involved with martial arts and professional combat sports my entire life and I’m almost 40 now. You can’t do it forever and I am the champ so I’ve accomplished what I want to accomplish.

"That said though, I’ve enjoyed this training camp. I’ve enjoyed the process. I’ve enjoyed being a little bit out of shape and now going to the peak of physical fitness. It’s a great process. It feels good knocking people out in sparring. I live for this s--t. So yeah, there will definitely be at least one more fight and who knows? Maybe more after that. I don’t know though."

Now, nearly 30 fights and over a decade into his UFC stint, Bisping finds himself in the throes of the greatest run of his career at age 38. Over a five-fight win streak spanning two-plus years, the Brit has gotten the better of Anderson Silva and avenged past losses to Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson - the former act of vengeance winning him the divisional crown last June at UFC 199, and the latter giving him sole ownership of the promotion's win record with 20.

Proud as he is of what he's pulled off in the twilight of his career, Bisping would rather live in the present, not the past.

"I don’t really try and think about those things too much, I don’t try and think about what I’ve accomplished and whatnot, but if I sit back and think about it, yeah, I’ve always been proud to represent England. Being the first world champion from Britain, that’s something I’m very proud of. The UK MMA scene is booming, we have tremendous fighting talent, and we have a solid presence now. On the more localized UFC shows, we see great talent on display all the time and it’s just going to get better and better."

Bisping meets St-Pierre on Nov. 4 in the main event of UFC 217.