Middleweight stars Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort are both looking to retire after their next fight, but it looks unlikely that their swansong in the Octagon will come against each other.
After the cancellation of his bout with Uriah Hall on short notice last weekend, Belfort set his sights on a new target by voicing his interest in a rematch with ‘The Count’, who he previously defeated by way of TKO back in 2013.
However, it seems that the division’s former champion, Bisping has no intention of facing the Brazilian for a second time.
“I’m not fighting Vitor Belfort in London,” Bisping stated on his ‘Believe You Me’ podcast. “I’m not fighting Vitor Belfort in London. I am not fighting Vitor Belfort in London. 100 percent, I’m not fighting him. Zero percent chance.”
As for why Bisping is so adamant about not fighting Belfort, much of it stems from the fact that ‘The Phenom’ was known to be using testosterone around the time of their last encounter and was running riot in the division, including finishing ‘The Count’ with a head kick that left him with a detached retina that caused permanent damage to that eye.
“So here’s the thing. I don’t like Vitor Belfort. People looking at this video are probably saying, ‘Look at his eye, he’s a f**king mess.’ It is part of the reason why I never wanted to do a video podcast before, because my eye is a mess and it was Vitor Belfort that did it and he was roided out of his mind. He’s a known drug cheat. I don’t like the guy. I find him to be a hypocrite. It’s his last fight and he’s probably going to juice like crazy again anyway because who gives a f**k. ‘Oooh, I failed. So what? Retired. Done. Gone.’”
Given his history with Belfort, the British star says he doesn’t to be bringing that much baggage with him for his final bow in the Octagon.
“I don’t want to be remembered for being a d**k, and I feel that Vitor Belfort would bring out that side of my personality. It’s my last ever fight, I want to go there and enjoy it. I want to embrace the moment, I want to live in the moment, I want to be respectful towards my opponent, basically thank all the fans of Great Britain for always supporting my career. . . not lunging and arguing and swearing and going at the guy and acting regrettably because years later I would look back and I would regret that.”
Responding to Bisping’s comments, Belfort has since fired back by claiming that his rival is a coward for turning down the fight.
”What a shame, Bisping,” Belfort wrote on Instagram. “UFC just informed me that you have declined the fight. I understand you are scared. The images above pretty much explain it all… So stop pretending that you are tough and just admit that you are afraid. And I thought you were man enough to step up in the octagon with me again, my mistake… unfortunately looks like we will not be delivering to the fans the fight they want to see… Happy retirement, you must be feeling amazing leaving the sport thru the back door… To be a legend is not to everyone!”
