Michael Bisping wants UFC title shot, not a cheating, non-English-speaking, boring opponent

Stick a camera in front of Michael Bisping and ask a question, and you’re likely to get a show. And with “The Count” angling for a title shot, he’s upped the entertainment value.

Bisping (28-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC), who’s fresh off an entertaining upset win over MMA great and longtime middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-7 MMA, 16-3 UFC) in February, joined Friday’s edition of “Inside MMA” on AXS TV to discuss what’s next.

Bisping, who’s No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, has now won three straight fights and four of his past five, and he’s likely closer to a long-awaited title shot than ever.

That’s why, according to the 37-year-old English fighter, he doesn’t want to waste time fighting a fellow contender, especially since he doesn’t see many intriguing options. Instead, he wants the winner of UFC 199’s headliner between current champ Luke Rockhold (15-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and former middleweight titleholder Chris Weidman (12-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who meet on June 4.

“I think I deserve the title fight, not to mention this is a business and I will sell that fight,” Bisping, who suffered a submission loss to Rockhold in 2014, told “Inside MMA.” “People will want to see me fight Rockhold. I will get people interested.

“Everyone else in the division, they’re all boring or they can’t speak English or they’re all taking steroids or serving suspensions. So I said to (UFC President) Dana (White), ‘Listen. I want that title shot.'”

And Bisping is confident Rockhold will emerge with his title after his immediate rematch with Weidman?

“I think Rockhold is going to go out there, and he’ll smoke Weidman again,” Bisping said. “He’ll make it look even easier. And then I’ll finally get my chance to get my hands on Blondie and smash those good looks and, yeah, take his title.”

Check out the full video, which includes some digs at fellow contenders Vitor Belfort and Ronald Souza, above.

And for more on UFC 199, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.