• UFC 152

Bisping: I must smash Stann to get Silva shot

Michael Bisping knows he can't just beat Brian Stann - he must destroy him © Getty Images

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British middleweight Michael Bisping knows he needs to knock out Brian Stann in impressive fashion if he is to earn the next title shot against Anderson Silva.

With divisional champion Silva revealing that he will not step inside the Octagon again until 2013, the top middleweight contenders have been given some time to press their claims to be the next man who gets to face the Brazilian.

Bisping, along with Stann, Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch, is in the mix for that title shot - but the man known as 'The Count' knows he needs to demolish Stann when they meet at UFC 152 in September in order to be the one chosen.

The 33-year-old has talked to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva about what he needs to do to get the next challenge for the middleweight belt - and knows a knockout victory in Toronto will help his cause immensely.

"We've had that conversation - I've got to perform," Bisping told MMA Fight Corner. "I've got to put on a good win against Brian Stann.

"Going out there and scraping a decision by the skin of my teeth won't cut it. I've got to go out there, I've got to beat him, I'm gotta look good and I've gotta fight.

"I'm going to put on the performance of my lifetime. Brian Stann ain't no pushover. If I do that, I believe I will get a title shot. Stann's a very dangerous fighter, very popular, he's a big name and this is a big fight.

"It'll attract a lot of attention and I feel it's a good opponent to put me in title contention. That's what I want. I want the fights that'll grant me a title shot. I think Brian Stann is definitely a name that could do that, as long as I get a good win and I win impressively."

The general consensus among UFC observers is that it is Weidman who currently heads the queue waiting to face Silva, but Bisping - who has waited years to get a chance to fight for the middleweight title - does not see why that is the case.

"I think I'm right up there," he noted. "The middleweight division is as stacked as it's ever been. Anderson's beat out a lot of the division. I think the only contenders left that he hasn't fought are myself and Chris Weidman.

"I think Chris Weidman, whilst being a fantastic fighter, still needs to generate a little more hype. You know, no one really knows who he is. So, he needs some more big wins. I've been there in the UFC now for six years, fighting the best the UFC's had to offer and I'm still here. I've got a stellar record and I want to fight the champ. Obviously I got to earn that right."

Bisping does not believe that, as things stand, Weidman can match his box office pulling power.

"I don't think a fight against Chris Weidman would generate the most pay-per-views. Up until recently, no one had a clue who Chris Weidman was. I didn't," he said.

"The only thing I knew about Chris Weidman was that I was watching his fight prior to my fight with Chael Sonnen backstage in Chicago before I went out and I had to turn it off because I was trying to get geared up for my fight and watching him fight was like watching paint dry. So, I'm not sure who's going to pay 60 dollars to watch him get beat up by Anderson Silva."

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