Rashad Evans Reveals Fight With Michael Bisping Was Very Close To Happening At UFC London
UFC fans in the UK greeted the news last week that Fabricio Werdum and Alexander Volkov would headline UFC Fight Night London on March 17, but what they perhaps don’t know is that Michael Bisping vs Rashad Evans came very close to being the main event bout.
Speaking to MMAJunkie Radio yesterday, Evans explained how he thought the fight was going to take place and that negotiations broke down following an initial agreement.
“I thought so too man, I got the call and I thought it was going to happen, but then things didn’t work out on the negotiation side between the UFC and Bisping,” Evans said. “I don’t exactly know what it was about, but I guess the talks just broke down after the agreement happened.”
Evans went on to say that he wasn’t aware of what happened with Bisping’s negotiations, but that he wasn’t going to hold anything against the Brit for trying to maximise his earning potential.
“I think it was contract stuff,” Evans said. “I think Bisping is getting to the end of his contract and that he’s been talking about retirement. I’m not too exactly 100-percent sure about what they were talking about and I don’t want to speak out of school, but I’m guessing it was somewhere along the lines of where the UFC could use Bisping and where he ultimately wants to be and I don’t think there was an agreement.”
“From my standpoint, I’d never, it’s never personal to fight anybody. For him, trying to get the bread, hey, get as much money as you can because at the end of the day, this isn’t a sport we can do forever. I’m never against any fighter making as much money as you can.”
Although the fight could be dead for the minute, Evans hasn’t totally given up on the prospect of fighting the former UFC middleweight champion. As far as Evans is concerned, he likes the sound of the fight and thinks it’s the sort of fight he wants to be linked with in the future.
“I liked the sound of Bisping because it was a fight that got me excited and that just let me know that I need a fight that’s going to get me excited,” Evans said. “You know what I’m saying? Nothing against the past guys that I fought before, but Dan Kelly and Sam Alvey just doesn’t get the blood flowing for me. Nothing against those guys, they’re great fighters and they both beat me, but at the same time, I just don’t, when I see myself in my mind’s eye, I see myself just at a different level of competition.
“I’m not saying those guys can’t compete with me, because obviously they did, but when I see myself, I see myself with those top, top guys and that’s the thing for me. I don’t want to go into a fight and be the desired one in the matchup. I don’t want to be the guy the young kid makes a name off. If it can be neutral, or I’m thinking that about the other guy, that would be great. You know what I’m saying?”
With Lyoto Machida also throwing his hat in the ring to get the Bisping retirement fight (See HERE), it looks like “The Count” is going to have no shortage of opponents to choose from for his last dance.
