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411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Who Should Be Michael Bisping’s Retirement Fight?

January 31, 2018 | Posted by Lorenzo Vasquez

Welcome back to another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! I’m your host, Lorenzo Vasquez III. It is my pleasure to bring you another round of Fact or Fiction MMA. By the way, thank you, for your votes and comments last week, it is appreciated! Last week, I laced up the boots once again to challenge the hard-hitting, Mark Radulich. We went toe-to-toe over Stipe Miocic becoming the best ever, Francis Ngannou buying into his own hype, and the idea that Jon Jones is innocent. I pushed forward with heavy artillery and Mark countered with blasting rights and lefts. After the dust settled, I was left standing in what was a close battle. Nonetheless, thank you, Mark, for your contribution and efforts.

This week, the handsome one, Dan Plunkett returns for an epic battle against the one and only, Robert Winfree. They will lock horns over Michael Bisping’s retirement fight, Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier coaching on The Ultimate Fighter, Paul Daley returning to the UFC, and much more! It time. Go grab some grub and strap in because it’s time for another round of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA!

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
“Handsome” Dan Plunkett
Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
6-8-1

VS

BLUE CORNER
Robert “The Last Rider” Winfree
Contributor/Live Coverage Guru/Host, 411 MMA Zone/411 Ground and Pound Radio Show
8-5-2

Vitor Belfort would be a more compelling opponent for Michael Bisping’s retirement fight than Rashad Evans.

Dan Plunkett: FACT This is true in two ways: First, Bisping and Belfort are more heated opponents than Bisping and Evans. When Bisping first fought Belfort in 2013, it was a high-stakes bout in which Bisping could have gotten a title shot with a win. Instead, Belfort, with TRT oozing out of his pores, head kicked Bisping and gave him permanent eye damage. Naturally, Michael Bisping isn’t a big fan of Mr. Belfort. Second, Evans has done nothing noteworthy in several years. Granted, Vitor Belfort has fallen off a cliff and aged like a normal human since TRT was banned, but he still goes for it and has more recent wins than Evans. There’s no question that Belfort is a more compelling fight for Bisping.

Robert Winfree: FICTION Neither Evans nor Belfort is remotely compelling in 2018, and were it not for his upset title win, Bisping’s last year or so would be equally dull. A Belfort fight has more bad blood and drama around it, but as this question is posed to me I don’t find either of those things terribly compelling. A rematch with Evans won’t be interesting, or entertaining, but it’s two former champions both at or near the end of their careers, and it’s two guys very recognizable to a certain generation of UFC fans, so there will probably be a fair amount of nostalgia attached. Honestly, how does anything involving Vitor Belfort in 2018 rate as interesting, much less compelling?

Having Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic coach on The Ultimate Fighter is an utter waste of time for both fighters when the fight could be booked for some time in the spring instead of the summer.

Dan Plunkett: FICTION Cormier has a hand injury and probably wouldn’t be ready for the spring anyway. Even if he were healthy, he noted after beating Volkan Oezdemir that he didn’t want to fight until the summer. It would be great to skip The Ultimate Fighter and head right into the fight, but if the fight was going to happen in the summer anyway, they might as well coach the show.

Robert Winfree: FACT My answer here is predicated on TUF being the sole reason for the booking timeline of this fight. I find it quite plausible that one, or both, of these champions mentioned that summer would be the ideal timetable for them anyway and the UFC simply pushed them into the coaching gig as a means of filling that same period of time while trying to build some hype for the fight. That said, I’m assuming the TUF thing was entirely the UFC’s idea in which case it’s a serious waste, as is The Ultimate Fighter at this point. I know the UFC is contractually obligated to produce the show through their current deal, and apparently, they love it internally as they’ve talked about shopping the show around regardless of which network they wind up with, but the show has been dead in the water for quite a while now. I said quite a few years ago that TUF was no longer about finding top-level talent, it was a multi-month promotional tool to hype up a fight but lately, it seems to have had almost no impact on that front either. Both Cormier and Miocic are established, I don’t think either one draws extra attention to the product and I seriously doubt the show grows the profile of either man.

More importantly, think of poor Larry Csonka when he has to recap that season and dealing with the AKA coaching staff and Miocic’s enunciation issues.

If Daniel Cormier beats Stipe Miocic, he will relinquish the heavyweight title rather than defend it.

Dan Plunkett: FICTION If there was no Cain Velasquez in this equation, I would bet the house on Cormier staying at heavyweight with a win over Miocic. That would prove to him that he can beat any heavyweight alive, and cutting no weight sure beats the misery of a weight cut. With Cain Velasquez in the picture, it’s tough.

If Velasquez returns this year, wins, and is healthy enough to turnaround and fight for the title by the end of this year, I think Cormier would step aside for his training partner.

On the other hand, if Velasquez loses, or wins and needs some time off, I think Cormier would defend the title at least once. In addition to the allure of not cutting weight, Fabricio Werdum is next in line for a heavyweight title shot, and that would be a fresh and interesting fight for Cormier. Perhaps Jon Jones would also be available at heavyweight. There would just be a lot of sense at heavyweight.

Robert Winfree: FACT This seems the most likely outcome should he win. If Cormier wins the next contender to the heavyweight belt is likely Fabricio Werdum, but there’s also the timing issues around the return of Cain Velasquez as well as the relationship between DC and Cain further complicating issues. It’s just easier for Cormier to vacate the heavyweight belt and have one final light heavyweight title defense before he retires. Of course, I also find the possibility of him winning, getting injured, then retiring and subsequently vacating both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles hilarious.

SWITCH!

In retrospect, Derek Brunson was never meant to be a UFC title contender.

Robert Winfree: FICTION If we discounted every talented but fundamentally flawed fighter from being meant for contendership half of GSP’s title defenses never would have happened, half of Anderson Silva’s title defenses never would have happened, women’s flyweight wouldn’t exist, and the heavyweight title would be defended between the same three guys and likely only once every two years. Brunson has issues, the fact that Souza was able to catch him more than once making the same mistake that Souza used to knock him out six years ago is deeply troubling, but he’s also won the majority of his fights in the UFC and several in very memorable fashion. Plus there’s nothing to say he won’t become a contender in the future, injuries are a thing and there are a billion interim titles floating around so who knows.

Dan Plunkett: FACT By virtue of me going with fact here, Brunson will inevitably go on a 20 fight unbeaten streak and break all of Anderson Silva’s middleweight records.

But really, Brunson has comfortably defeated mid-level middleweights and caught Lyoto Machida at a great time to catch Lyoto Machida. Each time he has taken the next step up in competition, he’s failed. Jacare Souza stopped him in the first round. Yoel Romero stopped him in the third round. Robert Whittaker stopped him in the first round. Jacare Souza stopped him in the first round again.

At 34, Brunson appears to be a fighter destined to occupy the outside of the title picture, always threatening to break through, but never being able to do so.

Andre Fili doesn’t appear to be on his way to title contendership, but his latest performance indicates he may be able to hold a spot in the top fifteen, and possibly the lower end of the top ten, for a few years.

Robert Winfree: FACT Full disclosure, I thought Fili lost that Bermudez fight badly. I was 30-27 for Bermudez during coverage and stand by that. That said, the lower three spots in the top fifteen are relatively fluid and Fili hanging out there going into his next fight isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Dan Plunkett: FICTION Let me preface this by acknowledging that Andre Fili is a talented 27-year-old with a lot of potential to grow and outshine any expectations that were gleaned based on his past performances. However, to this point, Fili has been far too inconsistent to say he’s on his way to title contention. Last Saturday marked the first time he was able to string together two wins in the UFC, and I thought Dennis Bermudez should have gotten the decision.

Even on a controversial decision, you have to be a good fighter to beat Dennis Bermudez. But Fili is fighting in the deepest division in the sport, where a top fifteen spot is much more difficult to maintain than at, for example, heavyweight. To keep a spot like that in the lightweight division, you have to be much more consistent than Fili has shown to be.

Given the UFCs current state of matchmaking and reaching for every penny they can grab, it would not be surprising that the promotion sign and bring back Paul Daley.

Robert Winfree: FACT Daley is still an action-oriented striker with a penchant for memorable knockouts. The UFC is still all over that, and the debt that Endeavor has to pay off every year means they’re likely to overrule elements of Dana White’s “moral” outrage that led to Daley’s exile the first time around. I won’t be surprised if Daley finds himself in a painfully generic pair of Reebok and in the Octagon once he’s done with Bellator. I don’t necessarily expect it, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

Dan Plunkett: FICTION It’s certainly possible that UFC would scoop Daley up if he became available. Although he has his misses, he’s generally the type of fighter they like inside the cage and he could headline shows in England. But he already has a major strike against him from punching Josh Koscheck after the bell, which got him banished from the UFC in 2010. Plus, Daley’s been in the news lately for railing against his promoter, and UFC certainly wouldn’t like that if he were under contract to them. I think UFC may see Daley as more of a headache than he’s worth.

So who won? You’ve got until midnight eastern on Tuesday to vote, so make sure you make your voice heard!

And that’s it for today but, as always, we’ll be back next week with another contest! And please, be sure to vote!

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