UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has continued to find his name in headlines despite the fact that he is currently sidelined with a knee injury sustained in his UFC 204 title defense against Dan Henderson, where he picked up a unanimous decision win, defending his title for the first time.
While UFC President Dana White recently stated that when Bisping is ready to return to the Octagon, he will be defending his title against Yoel Romero, recently released odds indicate the Bisping is the most likely opponent for former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre in his highly anticipated return fight.
Bisping and Romero’s manager Malki Kawa were involved in a verbal exchange on Bisping’s radio show, where Kawa stated:
“He’s the number one contender. That fight should have happened January 21st, you went for a knee injury that just popped up… you could have had this thing done in December, you did it now. Man, listen, you played it beautifully… all I’m saying is the following: stop the PED shit and the whole-
Michael Bisping quickly interjected, defending his harsh stance on PEDs, saying:
“No. I won’t. I have a very strong stance against it and I will never stop. You take performance enhancing drugs then I have zero respect, and if you defend someone, then Malki, I gotta lean towards zero respect as well, because, you know, it is a black spot on this beautiful sport that we have, and unfortunately, one day, somebody’s gonna die, and then it will be taken a lot more seriously, okay. Until that day- and God forbid that day comes… if you test positive for performance enhancing drugs, you should be banned for life and never given the opportunity to fight again, and that’s how I feel. Call me an idiot, call me whatever you want.”
“There’s no smoke without fire. I’ve been tested one of the most guys in the history of USADA working with the UFC, and I’ve never accidentally failed a test. How does one accidentally fail a test, because I tell you what, I’ve never done it… I’m pretty carefree to be honest, but I just avoid steroids.”
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/22/2017.