You’re not an MMA fan if you’re not in a constant state of confusion most of the time. Michael Bisping seemed all but confirmed for UFC London in a perfect locale for a retirement bout, but an opponent was never official. There were some reports going around that Rashad Evans, the man who dealt Bisping his first loss, was finally that opponent. After the former middleweight champion himself announced he wasn’t fighting in London after all, it looked like those talks were negated. Still, Bisping took to his podcast to make sure everyone knew he is not fighting Evans.
“I’m going to have one last fight, maybe. If some two-bit journalists out there on the Internet f-cking have picked up some information, that’s great, but I’m not going to publicly go out and say things when I can’t say them. Because you know what, [co-host] Luis [Gomez]? I’m a professional. Yes, people are reporting it [that I’m fighting Rashad Evans], but I am not. So, apparently there is a rumor going around about me and Rashad. I will say this. I will say this: I don’t know what to say. Let’s start with the obvious. Rashad fights at 205. I fight at 185. So, that doesn’t even make sense.”
Just spoke to @bisping. He told me that as of right he’s 100% not fighting on the March 17 London card, regardless of opponent. Worth noting, tickets go on sale tomorrow.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 30, 2018
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“I believe [Evans]’ officially gone back to 205. It’s not like I was 15-0 at light heavyweight. I was never 15-0 at light heavyweight, and I’m not fighting Rashad Evans. There you go. You’re saying that I used to fight at light heavyweight and I could return back there. You’re saying that he was the first guy to hand me a controversial split-decision loss that a lot of people thought I won and that perhaps we’re both getting towards the end of our careers and it would be a logical match-up in London. Huh. It would be very unprofessional of me to spill the beans. Listen, there’s nothing official. I can tell you that right now, hand on [my] heart. Hand on heart, there’s nothing official, and I may or may not be fighting again. We’ll see.” — Michael Bisping via his own Believe You Me podcast.
Perhaps Michael Bisping is just waiting for the chance to fight the right opponent? Bisping has already said Vitor Belfort isn’t an option, Dan Henderson is retired, Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold are already booked with Robert Whittaker waiting in line, Anderson Silva is ineligible. The only possible name left barring a blue moon Nick Diaz appearance would be Chris Weidman. While London would have been a perfect end to a long and storied career, another possible European card later in the year could work out, or Bisping could just hang up the gloves without fighting again. Although, that doesn’t sound like the Bipsing we all know and love.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/31/2018.