Bisping suggests UFC 217 title fight could be his last, win or lose
With the biggest fight of his career approaching, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has hinted that he could well leave the sport soon after, win or lose.
Appearing on the MMA Hour, Bisping spoke of his upcoming November bout with Georges St-Pierre and broke the news that his time left in MMA could be very limited.
“I think this is going to be the biggest MMA fight of the year,” Bisping hypothesized. “There’s three title fights on the event, so it’s a huge event.
“I think the career I’ve had, the years I’ve been in the UFC, the injuries I’ve had, the ups and downs, getting close to title fights and all of this, there’s a possibility — this might be my last ever fight. I don’t know if I’ll fight again after this. What a way to go out if it is. … I don’t know. Maybe, there’s a possibility [of retirment]. This may be my last fight. So if everyone wants to see Michael Bisping get knocked out, this is your last chance to do it, guys.”
“Just, I’ve been here for so long,” Bisping continued. “I’ve done it for so long now, and there’s other things to do in life. I mean, I still love this, don’t get me wrong. But you can’t do it forever. You can’t do it forever, and Georges — Georges should’ve stayed retired. He should’ve retired as a champion. I’m going to beat Georges and I’ll retire as a champion, maybe. I haven’t made my mind up on that yet. It depends.
“If there’s enough money involved, maybe I’ll stick around. But as of right now, I don’t know. My family wants me to retire. My wife wants me to retire. There’s a lot of people saying, ‘Mike, you should retire.’ My manager says it. So everyone’s in my ear saying, ‘Mike, you should retire, you should retire as champion.’ I’ve earned some money along the way, I’ve had a great career, I’ve represented my country. I’ve achieved more through mixed martial arts than what I ever would’ve dreamed of. We can’t keep going forever. You’ve got to know when the time is right, and I’m not saying the time is right, but I am contemplating it.”
Bisping would later add that he will only come to a decision once his headline UFC 217 bout has come to a conclusion but made sure to say that ‘the fire is still there’.
“I’m still enjoying it,” Bisping said. “I’ve just had a great training session with Jason Parillo (Bisping’s head coach). Sparred five fives this morning, ran this morning. I’m going to go train tonight. The fire is still there, I’m still hungry as ever. I still love this sport and I’m going to put a beating on GSP like he’s never experienced. I’m going to remind him why he retired.”