"I want to fight Bisping badly, 100 per cent I do. That is the guy I want if I beat Okami. I'd fight him yesterday, today, it doesn't matter. I want to fight him. I don't believe he should be where he is in the division. Look at his record, who did he beat ? He wins decisions, but against who? He gets beat when he fights top opponents. He gets decidedly beat, no decisions, he gets beat by KO. I don't worry about the rankings, I focus on myself, I'm not a cry baby like Bisping, I'm a man. It's one fight at a time, get this win and go from there. That is what I have to do. I don't need to bitch about rankings and people and fighters and bullcrap. I don't need to do the other stuff, that's not me. Bisping is a guy who is a f--- crybaby and no big wins."
-- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight Hector Lombard fires the latest shot in his evolving beef with fellow contender Michael Bisping in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. The rivalry goes back to mid-2012, when before Lombard had even made his UFC debut, UFC President Dana White announced he was in line for a 185-pound title shot, which left Bisping "massively pissed off." Lombard's shot never came to fruition, though, and over the next few months the two have gone back-and-forth in the media with Bisping calling "Lightning" a "poison dwarf" and the Cuban replying by explaining how "The Count" is a "douchebag" with "little girl hands." Needless to say, the two aren't particularly fond of each other and it's come to the point where they need to fight to settle their differences. Before anything can become a reality, though, both men have big challenges ahead of them as Lombard meets Yushin Okami tonight (March 2, 2013) at UFC on FUEL TV 8 while Bisping is scheduled to take on Alan Belcher at UFC 159 in April. If Lombard and Bisping both win --or perhaps even lose-- their respective fights, it's very likely UFC matchmakers are going to book this heated grudge match as soon as possible.
MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire card on fight night (Sat., March 2, 2013), starting with the Facebook "Prelims," which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, as well as the main card, which is slated to air at 10 p.m. ET on FUEL TV.
For more on the upcoming UFC on FUEL TV 8 event click here.