Michael Bisping Says A Retirement Fight With Lyoto Machida: 'Ticks All The Boxes'

Michael Bisping has given his response to Lyoto Machida’s call out this past weekend at UFC Belem and the Englishman sounds keen on the fight taking place.

Speaking this week on his ‘Believe You Me Podcast,’ Bisping reacted to the call out and he had a lot of positive things to say about the former UFC light heavyweight champion.

“I’ve no problem with the decision, but what I do have a problem with is what Machida said afterwards,” Bisping said. “I’m only joking, I don’t really have a problem with it, [but] he called me out once again.”

“He just said we were supposed to fight a couple of times over the years and that it hadn’t happened and that basically he had a lot of respect for me. I’ve got a lot of respect for Machida, I really do. As I said on Saturday, he’s one of the true martial arts specialist and one of the true martial artists that competes in the Octagon, so I have respect for him. Of course, there was the whole steroid issue, so I don’t want to rehash Saturday’s show, but there’s always going to be an asterisk over him.”

After saying that Machida was a “nice guy, good guy” and that he likes him, Bisping said that he liked the potential matchup and that he would be talking to the UFC about his last fight very soon.

“The Rashad fight we spoke about and it didn’t materialize,” Bisping said. “The Machida fight as well is something that could serve as my last bout. [It’s] very similar to Rashad in many ways, he’s a former champion, had a long career and getting to the final stages of his career. He’s someone I haven’t fought and have a lot of respect for.

“He’s had a great career and it ticks all the boxes from that standpoint. That’s about it. As of right now I’ve got to speak to the UFC and find out what’s going on for myself. I’m not considering opponents or who they are. I’ve got to speak to Dana and the UFC guys and figure out what’s going on next and in life.”

Only short of his “believe you me” catchphrase, Bisping signed off on the subject in typical fashion.