Former UFC champion Michael Bisping: I don’t know if I’m going to fight again

Over the past few days, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been going at it with fellow ex-champion Luke Rockhold. The bickering between the two men is seen to be a prelude to a possible third fight sometime soon.

Yet, despite these talks, “The Count” himself is unsure about his future plans. As of the moment, he is even looking at the possibility of retirement already, even without a final fight.

“Honestly, I don’t know if I’m going to fight again,” the 39-year-old Bisping said on his “Believe You Me” podcast (transcript by MMA NYTT). “I was going to fight in London, which is happening this weekend. I was supposed to fight but we couldn’t get the deal done and now it’s giving me more time to reflect. I don’t know, maybe I will, maybe I won’t [fight again].”

“If a deal comes my way that is good enough, and by the way, I’m not saying that as an insult to the UFC, they’ve got to run their business and I understand that and I’ve got to run mine,” he added. “If it’s mutually beneficial to all parties included, then yeah I will fight. But if not, I’m happy with the way things were.”

Bisping says his uncertainty is more about personal reasons, more than anything, and that he is just making sure that he would be making the right decision in the end.

“The reason I say I don’t know, there’s a lot of things going on in my life right now,” Bisping said. “I’m very busy and of course you’ve got to want it and I do want it. I do enjoy it and I do miss being in fight camp and I think that’s one thing that all athletes have is the trouble of finally walking away.”

“I find myself whenever I speak to athletes and former athletes, I ask them about their transition because it’s something I’m curious about but for me when I was younger, fighting was just a way to make money and I’ve been somewhat successful in that department.”

“But I’m always scared of letting it go and saying goodbye because once you close the door, you close the door and you can never go back.”

After a five-fight win streak which included two title bouts, Bisping is currently on a two-fight skid after being finished by Georges St-Pierre and Kelvin Gastelum, respectively, in a span of three weeks last November. He currently holds a win-loss slate of 30-9, with 20 wins by stoppage.