Michael Bisping Reacts To Lyoto Machida’s Callout

Former UFC champion Lyoto Machida returned to his winning ways this past weekend (Feb. 3, 2018), scoring a decision victory over Eryk Anders in the main event of UFC Fight Night 125 in Belem, Brazil.

After the fight, Machida expressed interest in a bout with fellow former UFC champion Michael Bisping, who’s expected to fight one more time before hanging up his gloves for good.

Speaking on the possibility on a recent edition of his podcast, Bisping said that he has a lot of respect for “The Dragon”:

“He just said we were supposed to fight a couple of times over the years and that it hadn’t happened and that basically he had a lot of respect for me,” Bisping said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Machida, I really do. As I said on Saturday, he’s one of the true martial arts specialist and one of the true martial artists that competes in the Octagon, so I have respect for him. Of course, there was the whole steroid issue, so I don’t want to rehash Saturday’s show, but there’s always going to be an asterisk over him.”

As far as the ‘steroid issue’ goes, Bisping is referring to the fact that Machida was suspended for 18-months by USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) after admitting to taking a banned substance in 2016.

Despite that, however, Machida would certainly appear to be a suitable opponent for Bisping’s retirement fight. “The Count” was rumored to possibly be taking on Rashad Evans, but that bout didn’t come to frutition, and he agrees that Machida would make sense as well:

“The Rashad [Evans] fight we spoke about [for my retirement fight] and it didn’t materialize. The Machida fight as well is something that could serve as my last bout. [It’s] very similar to Rashad in many ways, he’s a former champion, had a long career and getting to the final stages of his career. He’s someone I haven’t fought and have a lot of respect for,” he added.

“He’s had a great career and it ticks all the boxes from that standpoint. That’s about it. As of right now I’ve got to speak to the UFC and find out what’s going on for myself. I’m not considering opponents or who they are. I’ve got to speak to Dana and the UFC guys and figure out what’s going on next and in life.”

Would you like to see two legends like Bisping and Machida share the Octagon?