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Morning Report: Michael Bisping gives his side to Shanghai confrontation with ‘little scumbag’ Jorge Masvidal

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Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

It appears the beef between Jorge Masvidal and Michael Bisping isn’t likely to end anytime soon.

Earlier this week, Masvidal went on The MMA Hour where he discussed an altercation he had with Bisping at UFC Shanghai, claiming that the former middleweight champion screamed obscenities at him before trying to fight him in the hotel lobby. But apparently Bisping does not remember the situation the same way. Speaking on his Believe You Me podcast this week, Bisping responded to Masvidal’s story, saying that he has never tried to fight the “little scumbag.”

“He’s a f**king idiot,” said Bisping. “I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, at Madison Square Garden when I fought GSP at UFC 217 last year, we didn’t nearly come to blows. He was talking s**t, I was walking through the lobby, and I talked a bit of s**t back. That was it. I had no intentions of getting into a fight with a little scumbag like that. I’m not gonna lower myself - I’ve got a huge fight with Georges St-Pierre, why am I gonna start rolling around in a hotel lobby two days before that fight with somebody that honestly isn’t on my radar. I don’t know who he is, I don’t know anything about him.

“Here’s what happened in Shanghai. He’s always there, he’s always talking s**t. He’s a little a**hole, whatever. As I’m walking through the lobby, I see him and just give him the middle finger. I walk past and I go “f**k you” just as I’m walking by. I just lost a fight, I wasn’t in the best mood and that’s all it was. I wasn’t trying to get at anybody. I don’t go around trying to attack people in hotel lobbies.

“You know where Jorge Masvidal resonates with me? The other day I was biting my fingernails - you ever bite your fingernails and when you rip it off, you take a bit of skin with you? It’s annoying and it stings but it’s not really there, it’s only now and again. He’s about that level. That’s how much you resonate on my radar Jorge Masvidal. . . That’s what you’re like: you are an annoyance, you’re always there, but in a couple of days you’ll be gone.”

Masvidal and Bisping’s beef stems back to when Bisping tore up a Cuban flag while sitting cageside for a Yoel Romero fight. Masvidal is of Cuban descent and did not take the actions lightly and began lobbing shots at Bisping via social media, calling for a fight with the former light heavyweight. Bisping has never seemed particularly perturbed by Masvidal’s dislike of him and maintains that he has no interest in fighting him anywhere, neither inside nor outside the cage, even offering Masvidal an olive branch of sorts: let’s both just leave it be.

“I find the guy pathetic, I really do,” said Bisping. “Get a life, get a grip. I honestly don’t even want to give him this much time but Ariel has a big show, a lot of people watch The MMA Hour so I kind of feel like I have to put my side out there. Anyway, Jorge, forget I exist. Keep my name out of your mouth, and I’ll do the same. I’m not lowering myself to your level.

“I’m 39 years old with three kids, you think I’m interested in trying to fight with somebody that honestly I don’t even know. Do I care for him? No, I don’t. Do I respect him? Obviously not. He handles himself like a piece of s**t but I’m not interested in trying to fight Jorge Masvidal, whether it’s in the UFC, in a parking lot, whatever it is. Just move on with your life, focus on your UFC career - you’re dwindling UFC career. He’s lost fights at lightweight for crying out loud. I used to fight at light heavyweight, I’m a middleweight, I certainly don’t go looking for fights against lightweights. So get a grip, Jorge Masvidal.”

Unfortunately for Masvidal, it appears he won’t get his wish to see “one of the Latin fighters to break his face” as Bisping appears to be done with his MMA career. The future Hall of Famer ended the segment by saying that he is functionally retired from MMA now and has no real intention of ever fighting again, despite the fact that many people are calling him out.

“[Luke Rockhold] is a fight that does make sense but I’m retired,” said Bisping. “Everyone is calling me out . . . but I have no intention of fighting, let’s be honest. I’m retired. I haven’t made it official yet but I’m probably retired. Of course, when I say probably, that still gives me a window to come back but I’m probably retired.”


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EXIT POLL

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