Will he stay or will he go?
Michael Bisping’s fighting future remains up in the air, with ‘The Count’ seemingly undecided on whether to hang up his gloves or take one final fight.
Bisping would obviously relish the chance to finish his career with a win rather than on the back-to-back defeats which are the most recent on his professional record.
Bisping sounded eager to retire at next month’s UFC London event and had reportedly been in talks to rematch Rashad Evans on March 17 at the O2 Arena but contract issues apparently got in the way.
The Brit’s family want Bisping to call it a day, maintaining that there is no reason for him to put himself in harm’s way, having already cemented his legacy by claiming the UFC’s middleweight title in 2016.
There’s no denying that Bisping is a draw and it’s therefore understandable to see so many 185lbers calling him out in an attempt to persuade him to set foot in the Octagon one last time.
One such fighter is Derek Brunson, who shared a photograph of a signed bout agreement on Tuesday evening.
I gotta go to the Fox studio to find @bisping I see. You’re ranked 6, I’m ranked 7. Let’s exchange @AliAbdelaziz00 @Mickmaynard2 @ufc @danawhite
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) February 18, 2018
Dear @bisping,
You’re no easy fight. Obviously you’re ranked ahead of me… it only makes sense for a #6 being you and #7 being me to fight. Upside for both of us. The top half of the division is older than us both stop crying. You aren’t going anywhere, neither am I. pic.twitter.com/3mTRfZqKns
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) February 20, 2018
Brunson was suggesting that Bisping had refused to sign his side of the deal but that’s a suggestion that has been wholly rejected by ‘The Count’.
Bisping took to UFC Tonight two days later to address the claim that he was ducking Brunson.
“Photoshop is a fantastic thing,” Bisping said, claiming that Brunson had mocked up a fake bout agreement in order to generate buzz. “I have not been offered a fight with ‘Derelict’ Brunson. The reason I say ‘Derelict’ Brunson is because I think he’s still a shadow of his former self after getting knocked out against ‘Jacare’ [Souza] recently. Derek, you’re a good guy, but I’ve got bigger fish to fry. I don’t even know whose bout agreement that is… Derek, good try.”
