Michael Bisping knows what it’s like to act with anger given the multitude of feuds he’s engaged in the UFC for more than a decade.
That said, Bisping has never gone on a rampage like Conor McGregor that resulted in two fighters being injured and forced out of their upcoming bouts not to mention attacking a UFC employee, who suffered injuries and ended up in the hospital.
The outburst from McGregor ended with him being arrested and now he faces three separate misdemeanor assault charges as well as a felony charge for criminal mischief while likely further delaying his return to action in the UFC.
While Bisping is sympathetic to McGregor sticking up for his friend Artem Lobov, who was involved in a separate alteration with Khabib Nurmagomedov earlier in the week that reportedly led the former lightweight champion to seek retribution, he says enough is enough with this kind of behavior.
“I’m not trying to throw him under a bus and I don’t need to cause the world is doing that, the world is judging him,” Bisping said on his “Believe You Me” podcast this week. “I can’t say anything, I’ve made my fair mistakes over the years. Never to that extent but I’ve certainly done things I regret. But when you look at the situation and you look at Conor McGregor, here’s a guy who quite literally has the world at his feet.
“He’s got untold wealth. He’s absolutely f–king loaded. He’d never have to work another day in his life and he’d live a very, very extravagant lifestyle. He’s been a world champion. He’s super successful in his chosen career. He’s got over $100 million. People love him. Rightly or wrongly, everywhere he goes, people love him. He’s got a beautiful fiancée at home, he’s got a child. He’s got every reason to go through this life happy.”
https://youtu.be/U5r6BN_RBx8
That’s why Bisping believes that McGregor just needs to let go of that rage that swelled up inside of him that led to the tirade at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn that ended with him spending a night in police custody rather than preparing to announce his next fight.
“Just lose the chip, that would be my advice. Just lose the f–king chip on the shoulder, man,” ~ Michael Bisping to Conor McGregor
“Just lose the chip, that would be my advice. Just lose the f–king chip on the shoulder, man,” Bisping said. “It’s made me realize as well, cause I’ve got a good life, I’m very, very lucky. I thought about this. You see Conor go out there and doing this like what the hell are you doing? Why would you do that? Look at everything he has going for him. People would literally kill to be in his position. People dream of being in that position and now he’s in that position and he’s going out there and acting like that.
“By all accounts, Conor was going to be at the Barclays Center on Saturday night to make an announcement. It was going to be a title fight or whatever the fight was going to be, I’m sworn to secrecy so I can’t say but he was going to be there.”
As far as what comes next, Bisping knows that it’s going to be hard for the UFC to really punish McGregor for his actions considering what he did will probably lead to a huge pay-per-view showdown against Nurmagomedov.
In fact, the UFC already started to cash in on the melee after releasing an episode of UFC Embedded a day after the altercation with the entire focus on McGregor’s rampage through the Barclays Center.
“I tell you right now, if that was Ray Borg that threw a dolly, if that was Rafael dos Anjos that did that, if it was f–king anyone else, they’d be gone,” Bisping said. “They would be so f–king done in the organization. But no, the footage is on the Embedded! And listen, if you’re the UFC, now you have to do Khabib vs. Conor, and that’s all the Countdown show will be. Conor running in there, smashing the window, Khabib’s reaction, all that type of stuff.
“At the end of the day, is that how you want people to behave? No, but can you turn it into a positive? Of course you f–king can and you can turn it into a s–t-ton of money. That is going to be a massive pay-per-view. 100-percent. Khabib already has a huge following. Conor, of course, massive following. Them two fight after all that? Forget about it. Well over 1.5 million buys.”
Do you think Conor McGregor will receive any punishment for his actions ahead of UFC 223? Sound off in the comments and let us know!