Michael Bisping Shuts Down ‘Bulls*it’ Nick Diaz Rumors
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping hasn’t competed since suffering a brutal first-round knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum on short-notice in the main event of UFC Fight Night 122 in Shanghai, China on Nov. 25, 2017.
Prior to that, he had suffered a rear-naked-choke loss to Georges St-Pierre just weeks earlier at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017 in New York City, surrendering his 185-pound title in the process.
That stretch was a rough one for the longtime veteran and many suggested he retire in the aftermath of it. However, the 39-year-old has appeared to remain adamant that he’ll fight one more time before calling it a career.
An opponent for his farewell fight has yet to be named, but rumors recently began to circulate indicating that Bisping could take on former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz at UFC 226 on July 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada during International Fight week.
It appears, however, as if that idea is nothing more than a rumor.
Recently speaking on the idea, Bisping revealed that him and Diaz did indeed have a discussion regarding a potential fight, but he also confirmed that the latest buzz was nothing more than ‘bulls*it’:
“So here’s the deal with Nick Diaz,” Bisping said on a recent edition of his podcast. “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.
“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.”
Diaz hasn’t competed since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in January 2015. The result was later changed to a no-contest, however, when it was announced that both men had failed drug tests and Diaz, who tested positive for Marijuana metabolites, was handed a ludicrous five-year suspension.
That suspension was later reduced, but on April 19, 2018, he accepted another one-year suspension from USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) for failing to report his whereabouts. The punishment, however, was retroactive, making Diaz once again eligible to compete.
So despite the fact that a bout between Bisping and Diaz would likely draw interest, it doesn’t appear as if it’ll be taking place any time soon.
