UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has set the cat among the pigeons by claiming he’ll pull the plug on his superfight with Georges St-Pierre if the former welterweight titleholder attempts to delay his return.
In an interview on the ‘UFC Unfiltered’ podcast this week, GSP stated that, “I believe (the fight) will be more after the summer, I believe. It will be more after the summer.”
Apparently Bisping was not happy with that, and has now threatened to fight No.1 contender Yoel Romero instead if St-Pierre attempts to stall the fight until September.
“I heard that he wanted like September or October and that is what the UFC told me as well,” Bisping stated on his own SiriusXM Rush podcast. “But I am just throwing it out there right now. If he wants to wait until September or October, then he can go find himself another opponent.
“If he’s not ready then I guess Yoel Romero gets his title shot. Listen, I am not afraid of Yoel Romero. If GSP wants to fight, of course, there is a great storyline there. Georges St-Pierre coming back, fighting for the middleweight title. It’ll do big business, but I am not willing to sit around and he’s doesn’t get to call the shots. It’s my belt. I’m in my prime.
“I am not willing to wait a year for Georges St-Pierre. I might as well do two fights in that year and still make the same money.”
On face value this is a curious statement from Bisping. Is it really that important to him that the fight takes place in July or August, rather than September of October?
Is it so important that he’d throw away the biggest and most financially lucrative fight of his career?
It doesn’t seem likely that Bisping would really go ahead with this threat, or that the UFC would allow him to do so. Instead, it could just be that Bisping is looking to unsettle GSP, while at the same time silencing the critics that think he’s running from Romero.
