Michael Bisping wants fight in May, winner of UFC 147's Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen bout after that

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Michael Bisping moved into a number one contender fight with Chael Sonnen on short notice in January when Mark Munoz was forced out of UFC on Fox 2 with an injury. He lost a closely contested decision, but raised his stock in the eyes of most with how well he performed.

Now, he's hoping to get back into action soon, and hopes one more good performance will get him the title shot that has to date eluded him.

"I don't think it was a step backward," Bisping said in an interview with MMAjunkie.com. "If anything, I cemented myself as one of the top contenders in the division. I want to fight again soon. I'm aching to fight."

"I was just going back and forth with [UFC President] Dana [White] last night, so I'm not sure where we're at, but I'm hoping that [with] one more good win over a good opponent, I should fight the winner of Chael and Anderson later in the year."

Bisping's hoping to get onto a card by May, but knows that his options for opponents at the top are a bit limited at the moment. Still, he believes the UFC will be able to find him a fight that makes sense.

"All the top guys seemed to be booked up at the moment, so I'm scratching my head thinking of who to ask the UFC for," Bisping said. "I'm sure they'll come up with someone decent for me. That's what they do. I just tend to accept the fights and try to do my best. I was thinking about that last night, and I couldn't think of anyone."

As for who he could potentially face for the title, Bisping is hoping to see Sonnen come out with his hand raised against Anderson Silva in order to set up a rematch from their fight in January.

"From my own greedy thoughts, I'd like Chael to go out there and beat him," he said. "And everybody says, 'Well, Michael Bisping beat him and he beat Anderson,' but who knows. Apparently, Anderson had a broken rib or something and that affected his performance. Who knows if that was the case or not."

"Anderson is an amazing fighter - pound-for-pound, the best in the world. I would probably lean toward Anderson, but we all saw what Chael did the first time around."

Penick's Analysis: With Mark Munoz back to training, a Munoz-Bisping fight would make a lot of sense for May or June. Munoz was potentially in line to fight for the title had he fought and defeated Sonnen, so a fight with Bisping right now would work for both of them. Even though Bisping lost to Sonnen, it was a close enough fight to give him consideration for two of the rounds, and a win over Munoz could be a good enough case to give him a title fight. For Munoz, a fifth straight win over a fighter like Bisping would be huge for him, and could make him the most deserving challenger to the title after Sonnen.

[Michael Bisping art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_12646.shtml

Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan