SATURDAY NEWS DIGEST 11/5: Bisping doesn’t want to fight Romero due to lingering steroid benefits (w/Cervantes Analysis)

By Jonathan Cervantes, MMATorch contributor

Michael Bisping (photo credit Jake Roth © USA Today Sports)

BISPING WILL FIGHT ANYONE, ANYWHERE, EXCEPT…

Though he claimed he would fight anyone, anywhere, at anytime, UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping has recently been making headlines for all the fights he will not accept.

Bisping spoke on SiriusXM Rush about why he would be reluctant to accept a fight with Yoel Romero, who will fight Chris Weidman at UFC 205 next week. “If Yoel beats Chris, I honestly don’t think I’ll fight Yoel, because he tested positive for steroids,” Bisping said. “I read an article recently that said that it takes years for the advantages of taking steroids to get out of your system.”

He fears that Romero will continue to see positive benefits from the banned substance he took for some time. “Just because you don’t test positive anymore doesn’t mean you’ll lose all the extra muscle and things like that that you were able to achieve.” he said. “So I think he needs longer, I really do. I don’t see why he should be rewarded”

Although he wouldn’t like the idea of fighting Romero, Bisping would relish the opportunity to fight another middleweight he has had back and forth exchanges with over the last year. “If Weidman wins, that’s the fight I want” he said. “Me and Weidman, for a little while now, I’d say probably the last year, have gone back and forth, back and forth, talking sh–, and yeah, it’s a fight that interests me, 100 percent.”

Cervantes Analysis: First it was the Souza fight and now the Romero fight. It seems Bisping just wants to cherry pick the fights he feels like taking and against competitors he feels he matches up well with. Whomever wins between Romero and Weidman should be the next contender, with Souza being next in line after that. Bisping has not proved himself enough to be able to pick and choose the contenders he fights as he did with Henderson. To maintain stability and relevance in the middleweight division, I hope the UFC starts doling out title shots that are more merit-based than just what sells and what champions want.

THURSDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…

-Tito Ortiz said “I didn’t know he was gay” in an interview regarding Chael Sonnen commenting on Ortiz’ zipper being down on Bellator.

-Charles Oliveira and Ricardo Lamas will still face off tonight in spite of Oliveria missing weight, according to Bloody Elbow.

-Asked about how he feels regarding the UFC deal with Reebok during the Three Amigos Podcast, Tony Ferguson said, “Well, as far as Reebok goes, everybody makes mistakes.”

-After blasting Conor McGregor yesterday, Eddie Alvarez told MMAJunkie he’d “make the UFC great again.”

NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S REPORT: FRIDAY NEWS DIGEST 11/4: Eddie Alvarez sees beating McGregor as easy and part of cementing legacy (w/Cervantes Analysis)


(Jonathan Cervantes has been an avid fan of MMA since 2009 when he saw GSP vs. B.J. Penn 2. He has practiced tae kwon do, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling in the past and is currently a student majoring in entrepreneurship at the University of San Francisco. He writes the MMATorch News Digest on Fridays and Saturdays. Michael Hiscoe writes MMATorch News Digests Sunday through Thursday each week.)

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