Fans are still talking about Michael Bisping’s decision to accept the Gastelum’s fight at UFC Shanghai on short notice. This comes after just three weeks after being choked out by Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217 in Madison Square Garden. As you have seen, Bisping was brutally knocked out by Gastelum in the very first round.
Bisping’s head coach Jason Parillo even said, Gastelum, was a bigger threat than GSP but he continues anyway.
Former champ opened up on his decision to accept this fight on a recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast that it was a wrong choice to have such a quick turnaround after the brutal loss.
“It didn’t go my way, as everybody knows and saw,” said Bisping (via MMAFighting). “I felt great going into that fight, I did. Looking back in hindsight, was I overtrained and emotionally and physically tired? Yes I was, but the problem with having a f**king huge ego and thinking you can still beat people is that I knew that but I still thought I could beat Kelvin Gastelum. Not taking anything away from him. He caught me with a beautiful left hook that put me down. God bless him.
“It was a big gamble, it didn’t pay off. Had it paid off it would have been great but that’s what you do. You roll the dice, you give it a shot, and you hope for the best, and the best man, I guess that was Kelvin so well done to him.”
This bitter loss was marked Bisping’s second stoppage in November. It should be noted that three-week turnaround between his defeat at UFC 217 and his failure at UFC Shanghai is the shortest of Bisping’s career.
Gastelum opportunity arose for Bisping when Anderson Silva was pulled off from UFC Shanghai due to of failed drug test. While some can accept the logic behind the booking of the bout, some fans can’t believe it was made official.
“That fight was me trying to exorcise some inner demons and try and get back in the win column ASAP.,” Bisping explained. “As I said, it was a huge gamble and for many reasons it was the wrong move, but I don’t regret it. If you look at the grand scheme of things . . . I can see that it was the wrong move, but at the time it felt right, so I don’t regret it.
“After the GSP fight, when I agree to take the Kelvin Gastelum fight, I thought, ‘Well, I just had a week off but I was in great shape, so let’s get right back to it,’ and I sparred everyday for a week. That’s all I did for Kelvin, Southpaws, five rounds, for five days, and then I flew out to China, and I was just done. Emotionally, physically, mentally, I was just spent.”
Bisping said he is not looking to become champion again. Unlike the St-Pierre fight, Bisping said this one doesn’t bother him because he’s at peace with his career.
“I’m not looking to become champion again, I’m looking to finish off my career with a couple of fun fights. I went out there, I didn’t get the job done. I couldn’t give a f**k about rankings. I’m not trying to be the champion again. I had that, that was fun, it was a nice time in my life, I can always claim to have had that title, and now it’s time to move on with my life.
“I’m totally fine with it. I’m 38 years old. I’ve got a wife and kids. I’ve got other things I want to focus on in life. Will I do one more fight? Yeah, probably. But that phase of my life now is done and I’m happy with that. . . You can’t fight forever. I was a champion, no one remains a champion forever, and I’m proud of that.”
