Wednesday morning, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping found his name making MMA headlines after middleweight #1 contender Yoel Romero began to call him out on social media.
Romero questioned whether or not Bisping would ever accept a fight with him, and demanded Bisping be stripped of the belt should the champ not accept a fight with him. Romero then launched a GoFundMe campaign to pay for Bisping’s medical expenses after the pair have their eventual fight.
This of course comes on the heels of UFC President Dana White stating that Romero is next in line for a title shot, and will be fighting for the middleweight strap whenever Michael Bisping is fully recovered from his knee surgery.
Bisping fired back in a social media post of his own today:
https://twitter.com/bisping/status/829436817162145792
Bisping recently spoke in an interview to discuss his injury, return, and potential next opponent, saying:
“First and foremost, I am still UFC middleweight champion of the world,” Bisping said. “I have to defend that belt, simple as that. Dana actually- Dana White, UFC president- actually contacted me and spoke about a fight recently but I’ve been having a lot of issues with my knee so I’ve got to have a knee surgery. Maybe around end of April, May something like that, I’ll take a fight.”
“I want the biggest fight I can get,” he continued. “I don’t mind facing No. 1 contenders, but at this stage of my career I’ve fought the best guys forever. I want the biggest fight it can possibly be. By biggest, I mean the biggest money-generating fight I can possibly have. I feel I deserve that. I’ve earned that. So whether that’s Yoel Romero, then great. But if it ain’t Yoel Romero, if it’s Anderson Silva, great. I know he’s piped up again lately. If it’s GSP [Georges St-Pierre]- I don’t care who the opponent is. I’m not bothered by any opponent. I am the champion of the world and I will take on all comers, but I want the biggest fight possible.”
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/8/2017.