Michael Bisping responds to Lyoto Machida, open to fellow ex-champ as retirement opponent

Michael Bisping heard Lyoto Machida’s post-UFC Fight Night 125 callout loud and clear. And he might just take him up on it.

Following his split-decision win over Eryk Anders in this past Saturday’s headliner in Brazil, Machida (23-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) politely asked to fight Bisping (30-9 MMA, 20-9 UFC), who appears to have just one trip to the octagon remaining before retirement.

“The Dragon” said he felt a matchup with Bisping was long overdue and should have happened already. A variety of circumstances have prevented it, but the former UFC light heavyweight titleholder believes the time is now. Speaking on his “Believe You Me” podcast, Bisping admitted he’s interested, but before officially agreeing to anything, said he needs to speak with the UFC brass.

“He’s had a great career, and it ticks all the boxes (for my retirement fight) from that standpoint,” Bisping said. “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 (UFC President) Dana (White) and the UFC guys and figure out what’s going on next and in life.”

Bisping, 38, said he appreciated the respectfulness of Machida’s request to fight him. “The Count” said his he has a mutual admiration for the Brazilian, even if he does have a failed drug test on his resume.

“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. He’s one of the true martial arts specialists 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, … there’s always going to be an asterisk over him.”

“I’ve (got) no problem with the decision, but what I do have a problem with is what Machida said afterwards,” Bisping continued. “I’m only joking, I don’t really have a problem with it; he called me out once again.”

Prior to Machida’s comments, the leading candidate for Bisping’s retirement fight appeared to be Rashad Evans (19-7-1 MMA, 14-7-1 UFC). The UFC was targeting the bout for UFC Fight Night 127 in March, but Bisping opted not to take the fight after competing twice in November.

There was interest in Bisping’s side to fight Evans, mainly because he would have had the opportunity to avenge his first career loss. “Suga” beat Bisping via split decision at UFC 78 in November 2007, and a rematch more than 10 years later did have some compelling aspects. The timing of it all simply didn’t work, though.

“The Rashad fight we spoke about, and it didn’t materialize,” Bisping said. “The Machida fight, as well, is something that could serve as my last bout. (The fight is) 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.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 125, check out the UFC Events section of the site.