Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping went on a Twitter spree late Friday night and shed light on his fighting future.
Michael Bisping’s career finale has become one of the more intriguing storylines of 2018 and on Friday night it became more interesting. Bisping took to Twitter in the middle of the night to tease fans on a possible announcement and instead responded very candidly to questions about his retirement bout that may or may not be happening.
Making 185 for so long destroyed my body and career.weak as fuck! https://t.co/tE8qRszQsS
— michael (@bisping) May 5, 2018
Honestly………… I don’t know. But, I hear the last person I knocked out may be fighting for an interim belt. If he wins I’m in. I’m 225 right now and pretty ripped. Never making 185 again. https://t.co/OWz2gxfSUZ
— michael (@bisping) May 5, 2018
Most notably, Bisping stated that the weight cuts to 185 pounds over the years had taken a significant toll on his body and that currently he does not plan on making the move down to 185 pounds ever again. Bisping first moved down to middleweight in 2008 and has been a part of the weight class ever since. In that decade long span, he faced some of the best competition in the world in Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Luke Rockhold, Dan Henderson, and Vitor Belfort. He won the middleweight title in 2016 when he shocked the world by defeating Rockhold on two week’s notice. He originally made the move down after going 14-1 in the light-heavyweight division, back then stating that he was looking to give himself the best advantage possible in terms of size and weight.
I asked ufc, they asked me. Honestly, who makes sense? Serious question? Up and comer? Old legend? I have no idea https://t.co/k32fpmeXac
— michael (@bisping) May 5, 2018
Bisping’s rivalry with Rockhold is well documented and mentioning him would be a sign that he is looking for a big fight if he makes the walk to the Octagon one more time. He elaborated that when asked by the UFC about who else he would fight at light-heavyweight that no opponent made sense. Indeed, Bisping has few options at 205 as several contenders in the top ten are currently working their way through the ranks and a fight with “The Count” under these circumstances does little to move them forward. One possible opponent who stands out is Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Currently, Shogun is booked to fight Volkan Oezdemir in Germany this July. However, Visa issues have already taken Oezdemir off a card in Chile and it remains to be seen if he will be granted permission to travel to Germany for the fight.
Real talk, the Diaz brothers are the last of a dying breed. I’d love to! @nickdiaz209 https://t.co/I54k82XGsh
— michael (@bisping) May 5, 2018
He also touched upon a rumored match-up with Nick Diaz and said that while he did respect him, he also felt that at light-heavyweight he was likely just too big of an opponent for Diaz. He also gave his take that if a fight between Rockhold and Alexander Gustafsson does take place that he believes “The Mauler” will make short work of the former middleweight champion.
If Bisping does have his last fight at light-heavyweight, it will be interesting to see how he approaches the size disparity at this stage of his career. In the event that he does not enter the cage one last time, he has no shortage of options as his career moves on from fighting. He remains a mainstay of FOX as an analyst on UFC Tonight and TUF Talk. His acting resume has also expanded in recent years with appearances in Macgyver, Westworld, Den of Thieves, and xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.
