Michael Bisping says, no offense, but Chris Weidman's success very circumstantial

Always be wary of the words that come directly after “no offense.” Michael Bisping insists his aren’t intended to disrespect Chris Weidman, but “The Count” isn’t sold on the UFC middleweight champion just yet.

“No offense to Chris – and I say this to him all the time, as well, so he’s probably like, ‘I’m sick of Bisping,'” Bisping told MMAjunkie. “But I say all the time it’s been very circumstantial for him.”

Bisping (26-7 MMA, 16-7 UFC), who meets Thales Leites (25-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in UFC Fight Night 72’s headliner on July 18 in Glasgow, is now stranger to lacing out strong opinions on high-profile fighters. After all, the 36-year-old has been at the top level of the game for nearly a decade, and he understands that a little verbal jab every now and then can go a long way toward making a potential matchup a little more interesting.

But Bisping also isn’t one to just talk trash without at least a hint of substance, and he seems to think Weidman’s championship run is full of several asterisks.

“Mark Munoz came back after a long layoff and had a terrible performance,” Bisping said. “He beat Munoz. Then Chris laid out for two years or something like that, injured, then came back and got a title shot. Anderson Silva acted like an idiot, and he beat him for the title. Then Anderson broke his leg (in the rematch).

“Then (Lyoto) Machida came back, and I didn’t think that fight was very good. (Luke) Rockhold showed that Machida isn’t necessarily maybe what everybody thought he was. And then Vitor Belfort, (Weidman) gets to fight Vitor off the juice.”

Weidman (13-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is expected to face Rockhold (14-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) later this year in a bout that features the top two fighters in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings. Surely, a Weidman victory will go a long way toward earning the champ a bit of respect in Bisping’s eyes.

But until then, Bisping insists he doesn’t mean to completely discount what Weidman has accomplished. He just wants to be the one to unravel it all.

“I respect Chris – of course I do,” Bisping said. “He’s a fantastic family man, fighter, and a great champion.

“Circumstances have allowed Chris to look like Superman, and I want to prove that I can be his kryptonite.”

To hear more from Bisping, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 72, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.