UFC
Michael Bisping says UFC 152 bout with Brian Stann the "real main event"
Jul 23, 2012 - 10:15:57 AM Michael Bisping says UFC 152 bout with Brian Stann the "real main event"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC's middleweight title picture will sort itself out over the next several months as a number of fighters continue attempting to stake their claim to the shot. Unsurprisingly, Michael Bisping thinks the choice will be easy once his bout with Brian Stann at UFC 152 is complete.

"Anderson is an incredible fighter. He's the best," Bisping said on the Fuel TV post-fight show following UFC 149 on Saturday night. "I want to fight him. I know [Stann wants to fight him]. I'm sure I could give him a better fight than what he's had recently, and I'm sure [Stann] would, as well. Whoever wins this, we should get the next shot at the title."

Bisping's feelings on the middleweight title picture aren't surprising, but he also added some disparaging comments regarding the bout that headlines the UFC 152 card in the first-ever Flyweight Championship bout.

"In my opinion, and I think in most people's, this is the main event. This is the real main event," Bisping said. "Two big hard hitting guys. No one cares about little flyweights, this is the real main event, this is the real big fight, tune in cause someone’s getting knocked out, ain’t going to be me though.

"This is the real main event of UFC 152."

Penick's Analysis: Well, the reality of this UFC 152 event is that neither fight is going to bring in a massive buyrate. The UFC's flyweight tournament was set up on FX, on two events that didn't have a real large viewership, and so the pay-per-view buying public may not be up for spending an extra $60 in September after already paying for UFC 151 and the Jon Jones-Dan Henderson bout early in the month. Bisping-Stann isn't necessarily going to drive any extra itself, so this card will likely suffer somewhat because of that. As for the title shot, this could potentially be a No. 1 contender fight, but I doubt that. There are other fighters who may have a better claim, especially if they pick up wins this fall, so the situation is still not necessarily close to being sorted out just yet.

[Michael Bisping art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]