UFC Predictions: Who Will Michael Bisping Defend His Title Against?

Michael Bisping has been UFC middleweight champion for only a week now. But he’s already busy talking about his next bout.

Not Keen on Rockhold

Bisping’s huge upset over Luke Rockhold in last Saturday’s UFC 199 main event in Los Angeles shook the MMA world the way Nate Diaz’s win over Conor McGregor did. But while McGregor-Diaz is headed to an encore in August, the newly crowned 185-pound king isn’t too keen about giving his predecessor a quick rematch.

In an interview with ESPN, Bisping narrated his long journey to the UFC title and said that Rockhold should be subject to the same, especially after his behavior during the UFC 199 post fight press conference. It can be recalled that instead of congratulating the Briton, Rockhold went off on his opponent during the post-fight interviews and vowed to “kill him” in a grudge match. That didn’t go well with the new champ, who now says that Rockhold will have to earn the third bout the way Bisping did for last weekend’s rematch.

Not Weidman Either

With Rockhold out of Bisping’s mind, former champion Chris Weidman took to Twitter to call out The Count and asked him to make good on a recorded pre UFC 199 statement where he (Bisping) promised to give Weidman the first crack at the belt should he win at UFC 199:

Weidman was supposed to be in Bisping’s shoes at UFC 199. But the former champ pulled out of the bout with a serious neck injury. But after a successful surgery  a couple of days ago, Weidman wants Bisping to make good on a promise to give him the first crack at the belt that was once his. Bisping however, seems to have other plans in mind:

Eyeing Revenge?

Dan Henderson just shocked the world with a 2nd round stoppage of Hector Lombard at the same UFC 199 event. That victory was supposed to be the last fight in Hendo’s current UFC contract. But with the magnitude of his victory, people are asking him to reconsider fighting again. Henderson owns a KO win over Bisping and that happened at UFC 100 and the Count expressed interest in getting that one back. However, while it’s unlikely the UFC will grant Hendo the title shot, the idea of a Henderson-Bisping rematch is too tempting.

Aside from Rockhold and Weidman, two other fighters have a better claim than Henderson. Ronaldo Souza was supposed to fight Rockhold after Weidman pulled out. But Jacare was injured too, so then came Michael Bisping. With Souza on the healing process now, he too deserves a title shot when he’s healthy again. Then there is Yoel Romero, the Cuban slugger who is currently serving a 6 month USADA related suspension. It’s likely either of these men will get the call to fight Bisping but don’t count out Dan Henderson yet.