• UFC 120

Bisping not interested in loser of Marquardt v Okami

Michael Bisping has categorically stated that he does not want to fight the loser of Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami in his next fight.

Bisping put on an exhibition of striking to pick apart the dangerous Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120, making it three wins on the bounce for the British middleweight. The last time he went on such a run, he suffered a brutal knockout at the hands of Dan Henderson when victory would have earned him a shot at UFC gold.

Now Bisping believes he is back at those crossroads again. Vitor Belfort is next to fight current champion Anderson Silva, with the winner of Marquardt v Okami guaranteed the next crack. That leaves Bisping looking at the likes of Demian Maia, Alan Belcher, or a rematch with Wanderlei Silva, but he confirmed he is not interested in the loser of the Marquardt/Okami encounter.

"I don't want to fight the loser, I wouldn't mind fighting the winner, but I don't want to fight losers," Bisping told ESPN. "I want to fight winners. If they've just lost a fight, they're not doing anything for me. They're at the back of the line. There are plenty of good contenders.

"I've got to build on this win. One more good solid win against a good name opponent, I think I deserve a title shot. But I need one more win."

Justifying that statement, Bisping claimed he has only lost once in the middleweight division, reiterating his belief that he should have been awarded the decision against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 110. That would have left Bisping with seven wins from eight fights, and the Briton insists not many can match that kind of record.

"The Dan Henderson fight, that's the only fight I've lost at middleweight. I know it's controversial to say it, but I feel I beat Wanderlei Silva. Other than that, I've beaten Wanderlei, Denis Kang, Dan Miller, now Akiyama, so I feel I'm ready.

"But obviously there are other guys out there in the same position. One more victory over one of those guys puts me there."

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