Michael Bisping Guarantees Unretirement for Another Shot at Ex-UFC Champ

Bisping wants to run it back with this ex-UFC champ.

Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Bisping would unretire for a trilogy fight with Luke Rockhold in Karate Combat.

The former UFC middleweight champion appeared on a recent episode of his 'Believe You Me' podcast, where he all but guaranteed he'd unretire for another fight with Rockhold:

"Luke Rockhold vs. [Joe Schilling], I was doing a live [stream] to it, and everyone's like, 'You gotta do the trilogy'," Bisping exclaimed. "I'll do a Karate Combat against Luke Rockhold. I'll do it. I will have a trilogy with Luke Rockhold in Karate Combat. I would love to."

Bisping laid claim to the middleweight throne in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, when he defeated Rockhold by TKO at UFC 199 in 2016. 'The Count', as a +450 underdog, avenged his submission loss to Rockhold in 2014, closing the saga at 1-1. Bisping and Rockhold are now 45 and 39 years old respectively, meaning the window is quickly shutting on a potential trilogy.

Rockhold recently snapped a five-fight multi-sport losing streak by knocking out Joe Schilling at Karate Combat 45. The victory opened more than just a Bisping rematch, however, as another old foe came out of the woodwork.

"'The Dragon' is already breathing fire," Former UFC champ Lyoto Machida said of Rockhold's performance. "'The Dragon' is already breathing fire since they announced this challenge. Now, get to the right numbers, let's get a date, and see when we're having this dog fight."

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