Michael Bisping wants Anderson Silva to make up his mind, whatever that may be

UFC Middleweight Michael Bisping is an outspoken fighter, to say the least. With the news that Middleweight champion Anderson Silva may not fight again until the end of 2013, Bisping is not excited by the prospect of waiting for the title to be defended. Facing Vitor Belfort early next year, Bisping has been long campaigning for a shot at the belt. Some may argue that he is lacking that signature win that could not deny a fight with Silva. He spoke to MMAJunkie radio recently to clarify his feelings on what could become a logjam at 185:

“Yes, of course, we like to fight, and it’s a business as well. But you want that progression and to fulfill your dream, and my dream is to be world champion one day. We all have a clock that’s ticking. I’ve still got a lot of time left, but I don’t want to waste a year fighting for the hell of it. I want to know that I’m moving toward something.” 

Bisping may have a point here, and love or hate him, there is a lot of speculation about what Anderson Silva’s next fight will be. If he chooses not to fight until the end of next year, that puts the GSP superfight on hold, and it slows the Middleweight division, which has seen the belt defended only once since the summer of 2011, down to a crawl. Anderson Silva may be the greatest fighter in the history of the UFC, but that does not mean he should hold the promotion hostage. Bisping is not exactly a fan favorite but he is looking to further his career, and it is not getting any easier:

“I kind of feel like he’s maybe having a little bit of fun with it sometimes, but this isn’t a comedy program. This is the UFC, and this is fighting. It’s serious business. If you want to take a year out, take a year out. If you don’t want to take a year out, fight the No. 1 contender. Anderson is the best, but you’ve got to defend that title. Perhaps he vacates the belt, and when he’s ready to come back, he gets an immediate title shot and fights the new champion then.”

“The Count” will have to beat Belfort to have any chance of his plans coming to fruition of course. Dana White has recently described dealing with Anderson Silva as similar to working with a eccentric artist or rockstar, and Bisping echoes this sentiment. He knows that the UFC is for the fans, after all, and perhaps the diva-like behavior has begun to grow stale for everyone involved:

“He’s put us all in this position. It just sucks for the fans that want to see Anderson fight. It sucks for the fighters that want to fight Anderson for his belt, and it sucks for the UFC, as well.”