Michael Bisping blasts Yoel Romero's 6-month suspension: 'He could have killed somebody'

Michael Bisping is one of the more outspoken critics of performance-enhancing-drug users – especially in his own division – and he had a scathing critique of fellow middleweight Yoel Romero.

On Monday the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which administers the UFC’s drug-testing program, issued Romero a six-month suspension rather than the two-year ban that was previously on the table.

Romero (11-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who failed an out-of-competition test shortly after his split-decision win over Ronaldo Souza (22-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) at UFC 194, insisted the failure was caused by a workout supplement, one that listed no banned substances among its ingredients. After a lab test confirmed his theory, USADA opted for the shorter suspension.

Originally on the sidelines until 2018, Romero, who’s No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, can now return to the octagon and continue his title push as soon as July.

That doesn’t sit well with No. 6-ranked and fellow contender Bisping (28-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC), who blasted the reduced suspension on Instagram, arguing Romero “could have killed somebody”:

Tainted supplement? 6 months? That's no suspension. He could have killed somebody. What was the supplement? No mention of it. Come on.

A photo posted by Mikebisping (@mikebisping) on Apr 5, 2016 at 7:06am PDT

On late Monday, Bisping also fired back at some fans who suggested the Brit’s long-awaited title shot could be pushed back by Romero’s return to the cage (via Twitter):

Romero and Bisping are both hoping for the next middleweight title shot. First up, though, is a rematch between reigning champion Luke Rockhold (15-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and former titleholder Chris Weidman (12-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who meet on June 4 at UFC 199.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.