Nyligen började rykten spridas om att en potentiell match mellan Michael Bisping och Nick Diaz var i diskussionsfasen inför UFC 227, som äger rum i Los Angeles, Kalifornien den fjärde augusti.
Nu slår Bisping ner ryktena – och hånar ”clickbait”-sidorna som drog igång det hela.
“You know why? [Because] it’s true. It is – I’m fighting [Nick] Diaz in LA. For the sake of people who want to take a little clip and make this go fucking viral – I’m fighting Nick Diaz in Los Angeles,” sa Bisping sarkastiskt i det senaste avsnittet av hans podcast Believe You Me och fortsatte:
“No, no. I’m not fighting Nick Diaz, it’s all total bullshit. I haven’t spoken to the UFC about anything, they haven’t even come to me. In fact, I’m a little bit offended the Ultimate Fighting Championship – what the fuck?”
Den forne mellanviktsmästaren, som har förlorat två raka matcher mot Georges St-Pierre och Kevin Gastelum, förklarar vidare att han förmodligen kommer att hänga handskarna på hyllan och att han bara inte har gjort pensionen officiell ännu.
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Pratade om att mötas 2016
Även om en match mot Diaz är osannolik i dagsläget, så berättar Bisping dock att de två pratade om att mötas när de stötte ihop med varandra i New York för två år sedan. Han betonar emellertid att det mest var på skoj och att några nya diskussioner aldrig har kommit upp igen sedan dess.
“So here’s the deal with Nick Diaz. A while ago I was in New York. I was doing some PR stuff for the UFC and I went to a club, actually, with a friend of mine, couple of friends and lo and behold – there was Nick Diaz,” förklarade Bisping.
“Great guy, we hung out, we had some drinks, we had a good time and he suggested that we should fight each other at 170. And I’m like ‘I can’t do 170, so we were talking about a catchweight and I said ‘Nick, I’d love to, man. You’ve got a huge name in this sport,’ you know? It was a very pleasant conversation. There was no nastiness, you know what I mean? There was no bitching. I was like ‘come on dude, you have to come up, making 185 kills me’ and this and that.
“But really I think we were just having fun with it more than anything. It never materialized into any actual real discussion of a fight, and of course since then he got banned or suspended – that whole thing with the weed which was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. Fortunately, the commission did the right thing and he’s back. But I don’t know were these rumors started, I don’t know who started it but it’s bullshit. I haven’t heard a single thing. The UFC haven’t reached out, my management haven’t reached out – no one has said anything, no word what so ever.”
LÄS MER: Nick Diaz utmanar Michael Bisping – mellanviktsmästaren intresserad av matchningen
Redo att ta matchen – men ställer ett krav
Ryktena verkar med andra ord vara tagna helt ur det blå, men även om pensionen är nära så kan Bisping faktiskt tänka sig att acceptera en match mot Diaz. Men om ”The Count” fightas igen för en sista gång så vill han dock gå upp till lätt tungvikt, eller åtminstone köra ett catchviktsmöte på 195 pounds (ca. 88 kg) – något han tvivlar på att Diaz skulle gå med på.
“[Nick and Nate Diaz] are fighters, as simple as that, and that’s what I respect about them,” fortsatte Bisping. “Nick Diaz is someone who I definitely respect and if there was a possibility of that fight, then for sure I would accept that, you know? People would want to see that.
“The only issue is that if I do fight, I want it at 205 and I don’t think Nick would do 205. Because making 185 for the last, you know, ten years – it’s been so hard. Making 185 for me is not an easy task. It’s not an easy task at all. And if I’m going to fight one more time, it’s going to be at light heavyweight. Or I do a catchweight, you know, maybe a 195 or whatever. But making 185 for me is too hard. So if Nick would be willing to come up then I’ll do it, I’ll accept. If he comes up to 195 or something like that, I’m down, I’m in – sign me up!”
RELATERAT: Nick Diaz hintar om en comeback
