Who should Michael Bisping face in his retirement bout?

Michael Bisping has made it clear he wants to end his fighting career on his own terms.

The former middleweight champion refused to call it quits after his UFC 217 loss, citing the fact that he didn't want to spend his last moments in the Octagon being choked out.

On Monday, the Manchester native said he wants his final UFC bout to come on the March 17 London card after his upcoming fight with Kelvin Gastelum in China Nov. 25. However, he did not name an opponent - so we came up with a few for him to ponder.

Lyoto Machida

The 39-year-old Machida is one of few longtime UFC veterans who has yet to cross paths with Bisping despite remaining close in weight throughout their careers.

Machida is coming off his third straight stoppage loss and has expressed interest in taking fights only in his home country of Brazil, though money can always change things. Bisping might be his most lucrative opponent.

If Gastelum deals Bisping his second straight loss, Machida's recent losing streak may be viewed as an attractive option to go out on top for the former champ.

Luke Rockhold

Rockhold and Bisping have some unfinished business to attend to. Bisping finally won his first UFC belt off Rockhold in June 2016 after the California native submitted him in 2014.

This would be the tiebreaker for the two and could give Bisping bragging rights, as many fans and media opined that his knockout of Rockhold was lucky.

Rockhold is coming off a win and looking to regain the title. Bisping would have to beat Gastelum for the fight to make sense for both parties.

Yoel Romero

This is probably the fight most fans want to see, but Romero's knockout power may not be something Bisping wants to deal with on his way out of MMA.

Prior to Romero losing the interim title to Robert Whittaker in July, he and Bisping had engaged in an exchange, disrespecting each other's home countries of Cuba and England, fueling the true dislike for one another.

Vitor Belfort

A rematch with Belfort would give Bisping the opportunity to exact revenge - something he's already done against Rockhold and Dan Henderson - though it may be too late.

Belfort, who defeated Bisping by TKO in 2013, has announced that his January bout with Uriah Hall will be his last. Even if 40-year-old Belfort decided to back out of his retirement plans - as many veterans do if they score an impressive win - it would be a quick turnaround to fight in March.

This would be another bout that would essentially require Bisping to fall to Gastelum to make enough sense to book it.

Rashad Evans

Evans certainly isn't the ideal choice for this bout. He's lost four straight and has not headlined an event since April 2016, but if Bisping is purely looking for an opponent with name recognition, this would be his easiest challenge.

Bisping could also grab some long-awaited revenge from Evans, who dealt "The Count" his first career loss back in 2007 via split decision, when both were still light heavyweights.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)