Agreed.
I think it is time for Mousasi or Whittaker. Both fighters are honorable, unlike dirty Romero.
Michael Bisping sees Robert Whittaker as a 'more worthy contender' for his title than Yoel Romero
- Thread starter Zeph
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I think it is time for Mousasi or Whittaker. Both fighters are honorable, unlike dirty Romero.
I mean I like Bisping too..how are you gonna let him off so easy though?
I don't like Bisping. But he's right about Romero being a dirty fighter.I mean I like Bisping too..how are you gonna let him off so easy though?
Did you read the opening page of this thread where Bisping said he'd fight Whittaker because Yoel is a dirty cheat?IMO serial cheater is pretty harsh unless you want to lump in all kinds of fighters to it as well (Jones being up there with habitual eye pokes and not always being super classy in his wins) I don't put all the blame on Yoel for stool gate, we have officials controlling the cage for a reason. Also this isn't first crack. Mikes already been gifted his first defense in an old Hendo who IIRC wasn't even top ten ATM. Now it's Layoff GSP the WW, what more can you hand a current champ?
Either way I think it's crazy to use these issues as reasoning to fight others. If there's a source showing Bisping is on the same page as you (saying he doesn't want to fight Yoel because he's a cheater) than he needs to stop telling the fans that he's never turned down a fight every chance he gets. He ducked Whittaker and is choosing to fight anything that isn't a top 5 MW.
There is no moral basis for my argument. I'm simply saying Bisping has a right to his. The rankings are no less arbitrary than his reasoning.
Yes but I've also read other claims by Mike too.
UFC champ Michael Bisping: I'll fight Yoel Romero 6 weeks after Georges St-Pierre bout
“Odds are it’s going to be Yoel Romero, my next fight,” Bisping said Monday on The MMA Hour. “That’s what I’m assuming. I’ve had no further dialogue with the UFC, but I know that Georges (St-Pierre), his trainer (Jorge Blanco) told me recently that they’re pretty much at an agreement with the UFC, so the deal is almost done and he wants to fight me. I am the fight that they’re targeting, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. As of right now, I would assume that Yoel is my next opponent, but there’s always that wild card.”
Bisping fires back at ‘barbarian’ Romero
If the highly anticipated fight against St-Pierre falls through, Bisping would be willing to defend his belt against 39-year-old Cuban Romero.
“If he’s not ready then I guess Yoel Romero gets his title shot,” the 38-year-old said.
“Listen, I’m not afraid of Yoel Romero. If GSP wants to fight, of course, there’s a great story there. But I’m not willing to sit around and he doesn’t get to call the shots.”
Michael Bisping ready to fight Yoel Romero instead of Georges St-Pierre - Boxing News
If Mike's stance from the get go was Yoel is dirty so he's never getting a fight with him that's one thing. The pattern is he says he'll fight him, then it becomes a real possibility so he cries foul and gets somebody else.
As far as having the right sure. But exercising that right allows the fans and other fighters to call him on it. I can't think of too many times a champ has hand picked such obviously lesser competition during thier reign. What makes it even worse is that Bisping is the poster boy for pleading for title shots but coming up short when it mattered. Yoels record is great (so was Jacares) yet neither got a shot. Mike was offered an amazing opportunity with Rockhold and capitalized on it perfectly. For a guy who begged and pleaded for years for his own title shot it's interesting to watch him duck and dodge the real competition now that he's in a position too.
I hear what you're saying, but you are operating under an older, maybe imaginary paradigm where things like achievements and rankings dictated why and how fights went down. MMA has not been like that for about 10 years, if it ever was. Where the most accomplished contender faced the champion, it was mostly by coincidence or because it was a formal tournament. The UFC used to have near total control over this process and the payscales were so low that sitting out was an impossibility.
We are now in an era where fighters have a bit more discretion over who they fight and when because they can afford financially to sit longer. If they find another fighter reprehensible, they can exercise their bargaining power to deny them a shot at literally stealing their livelihood, because in most cases, that's what it amounts to. In the past, that was determined solely by the organization.
Here is the likely reality of the fight between Yoel and Bisping behind the hype, smack talk and promotional propaganda.
Bisping is near the end of his career.
Bisping knows Yoel is a risky matchup because of his style and his propensity for playing dirty.
Bisping wants $X to face Yoel as a result.
UFC won't give Bisping that much to fight Yoel because of whatever reason.
Bisping knows a GSP fight will draw his desired $.
Bisping thinks Whittaker is a less risky fight for him after GSP and knows he will make the same $ he would have made to fight Yoel.
Either the fight with GSP or the fight after will likely be Bisping's last.
That is the most likely calculus that is taking place. Deserve has zero to do with it.
Lots of good points here. I don't agree with this too much.
Where the most accomplished contender faced the champion, it was mostly by coincidence or because it was a formal tournament
I think WW and LW have a pretty solid history of giving the top guys in the division thier shots since belts were given. I'm not saying 100% of the time but more so than not. Once GSP left it got messy with guys like Maia still waiting but that's only within the last few years, not 10 years ago. Same with LW once Eddie finished RDA.
I agree with your assessment on how the Bisping Romero thing is being aged out and that's my gripe. Its just funny to see Mike who's been in a very similar spot as the top 5 guys in his division now treat other fighters in the same way he was. How long did Mike beg and plead for his chance only to watch other guys get the nod? And now he's doing the same thing back but far worse imo by getting fights with guys out of the top 10 or a weight below.
Agreed on the last part.
At the end of the day the champion HAS to fight the very best contenders. Undoubtedly those are Romero & Mousasi.