If Brad Tavares wants a shot at Michael Bisping, he might be waiting for a while.
Following his knockout win over Krzysztof Jotko at UFC on FOX 29, Tavares called for a fight against the former middleweight champion but he probably didn’t get the answer he wanted.
Tavares was respectful with his request for the fight but then after leaving the Octagon, he actually sought out Bisping backstage as he was on site as part of the FOX television crew covering the event.
While nothing got heated during the friendly exchange, Tavares later recounted the incident by saying that Bisping told him to ‘get the f–k out’ after he appeared in the backstage area for the FOX broadcast. Tavares added that if Bisping ‘needed’ an opponent who would stand and trade with him, than he’s more than happy to face the former champion in his retirement fight.
That led to a response from Bisping, who definitely answered Tavares’ call out as well as the backstage altercation after his win at UFC on FOX 29.
“Listen, I don’t need anything. I certainly don’t need anything from you, Mr. Brad Tavares,” Bisping said in response. “You couldn’t shine my shoes. I might have said ‘get out’ but I said it friendly so you had to make me sound like I was all hostile. I sat there, I didn’t even move. I think I was eating a bag of chips like ‘oh this guy, you just got your ass kicked by [Krzysztof] Jotko’ and he tried to walk in acting big time. It’s like get out, pal.
“Listen, Brad, there’s never ever anything that you have that I would need.”
Bisping has flirted with fighting again before calling it a career but hasn’t made a final decision on whether he will return for one more bout or just retire with his record as it stands.
While he’s taking time to make that final decision, Bisping continues to be one of the most called out fighters on the roster with Tavares joining top 10 ranked middleweights Luke Rockhold and Derek Brunson, who have also been asking for that fight in recent weeks.
If Bisping does decide to return for one last fight, it appears Tavares’ name has already been scratched from the list of potential opponents.
Do you think Michael Bisping should entertain Brad Tavares’ call out for a fight or should he face someone else instead? Sound off in the comments to let us know.
