Michael Bisping's playing a very dangerous game making this point about Conor McGregor.
Not that the undisputed UFC middleweight champion is likely to care too much. He has proven throughout his career that he doesn't exactly pay much heed to the public's perception of him.
He was content generating interest by playing the role of the villain as a younger man, and he has gained a whole new following his inspirational storyline receiving the Hollywood highlight of finally claiming that UFC belt after almost a decade in the promotion. The honest and often offensive trash talk will always get people talking too.
He may be a bit of a jerk, but he's an oddly lovable one.
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There are a couple of things that have been going against Bisping since he's reached the zenith of the sport. Firstly, he's in the era of the money fight and fans are already starting to become fed up.
When Tyron Woodley kept calling to be matched up against Nick Diaz, Georges St Pierre and even that brief time he toyed with the idea of a superfight against Bisping, he received ferocious criticism. Likewise, when GSP was announced as the challenger to Bisping's 185 lb throne, the champion got grief as well for avoiding the number-one contender for yet another defence.
However, when McGregor began gunning for his diamond-encrusted panty night against Floyd Mayweather, after the initial laughter died down, the majority of fight fans got excited, or at the very least, intrigued.
That's the other thing Bisping has going against him right now, he's not Conor McGregor. He touched on this on his
Believe You Me podcast.
"Whatever I do, I get shit off everybody. Conor McGregor can do no wrong, he is Jesus reincarnated. He can walk on water, he can do whatever the fuck he wants. He can leave the sport of UFC and go chase a boxing match and that's still the best thing ever, holding up two divisions whilst he's at it."
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Technically, McGregor is only holding up one division in the UFC right now - lightweight. However, he did pursue that welterweight do-over against Nate Diaz instead of defending his featherweight strap, thus holding that division hostage for that period.
'The Notorious' has never defended a belt and he's shown no signs of breaking that cycle in the future. Bisping, on the other hand, has defended his belt, but that was against a retiring Dan Henderson who wasn't even in the top 10 at the time. Bisping has a point, but at the same time, calling out his critics may not be the wisest of moves.
"But me, Jesus Christ, all I tried to do is get a big payday and I'm the scum of the earth, I'm the devil. The top seven are calling me out. Whichever one of them, because they're all tough guys, let's be honest, whichever one I pick, the other six are all going to bitch and whine and complain."
"So you can't win. I'm fighting Georges St-Pierre, fucking deal with it."
Whether you agree or disagree, you've got to appreciate the honesty.
