This summer, the next step of Bisping’s underdog title reign will unfold when Bisping returns from knee surgery to make the second defense of his belt, with the Brit preferring a timetable of either June or July. And though Olympic medalist Yoel Romero is the assumed No. 1 contender for the next shot at Bisping’s title, “The Count” continues to hold out hope that he can land a much bigger fight against UFC luminary Georges St-Pierre.
“The only reason I’m saying Georges St-Pierre is because I know he wants to fight me, and I was offered a fight with him. That’s the only reason he’s in my mind,” Bisping said this week on The MMA Hour. “If I wasn’t offered a fight with him [in 2016], I wouldn’t be thinking Georges St-Pierre. But that just got that carrot dangled in front of my face of a several-million-dollar payday. Call me stupid, but I want that f*cking carrot. I want that several million dollars in my bank account. I want it for my children’s sake, for my family, for when I’m retired so we can still live a good life.
“That’s why I’m doing it. Not because I’m trying to rob the UFC, or rob the fans of the No. 1 contender, or do wrong to Yoel Romero. I want it for my family’s sake. So in a perfect world, I fight Georges St-Pierre, I will beat Georges St-Pierre, I will not be injured in that fight Georges because Georges never injures anybody in a fight, and then I will do a quick turnaround, within six weeks I will fight Yoel Romero. That’s what he wants, that’s what he’ll get. I’ll guarantee you right now, hand on my heart.”
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“I’ll say this, and with the greatest respect to the company and Dana White — Dana has always been very fair with me, Dana has always treated me with respect, and this and that, and I’ve always been happy. I’ve always been happy with the amount of money I’ve been paid. But now I see we’re in a new age in the UFC, and I see gigantic paydays going around that I have never been a part of,” Bisping said. “I’ve done very well, don’t get me wrong. I’ve done very well, without getting into specifics, but I see other people now making a lot more money and that does piss me off a little bit.
“I just would like to be a part of one of these gigantic cards before I retire. That’s all. Just to get a big payday that I can retire on. Now, could I retire now and lead the rest of my life? No, I can’t. As I said, has the UFC always paid me well? Yes, they have. And I’ve got no qualms. I’ve always signed contracts, and at the time, I’ve always been happy signing those contracts. So I can’t say that. But I see Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor getting $3 million guaranteed, plus pay-per-view, so that would be $10 million paydays. I’ve never had a $10 million payday. I’ve never had a $1 million payday. So yeah, of course, that’s why I want the money fights. Who doesn’t want that? I’ve done this my entire life. I’ve dedicated myself to this sport."
A vet of 27 UFC fights, Bisping has ‘never had a $1 million payday’