Count Down to "Dooms" Day: Bisping vs Day

With less than 2 months to go until UFC 85: Bedlam, Michael "The Count" Bisping has recently talked about his upcomming bout with second-timer Jason Day on June 7th 2008.

In an interview before this bout was announced, Day was asked who he would like to face next.

"I’ve said I would like to face Bisping. Him and Yushin Okami are two guys I wouldn’t mind fighting. Just because Bisping’s an awesome fighter and he’s well conditioned so I’m thinking he could scrap. And Yushin, he takes everybody to decisions, so I just want to see what he’s all about."

With Chris "The Crippler" Leben unable to compete, Day's wishes have come true with him being selected as Bisping's next opponent, as previously reported on MMAUniverse. The Counts recent interviews have shown his feelings on the changes to his London matchup.

"So Jason Day is the guy I’m now going to be fighting. It’s a little bit frustrating because Chris Leben is a well-recognised name and a good fighter and a lot of people were looking forward to that fight – as was I – because he would have been a good test at middleweight." Said Bisping. "Everyone knows who Leben is and if I’d beaten him it would have given me a lot of credit. But I believe Jason Day is just as dangerous an opponent – he beat Alan Belcher who’s a pretty strong fighter and he’s 18-3 I believe but he’s not known to the general public. It’s only the hardcore MMA fans who know who he is."

There had also been rumours that Bisping was frustrated at not being the main event for this card, especially regarding Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell's injury and pulling out of this event.

"I’m not disappointed at all that I’m not headlining UFC 85 in London. Don’t get me wrong, it’d be an honour to be the main event in England but I think me versus Jason Day, while it’s a really good fight, I’m a realist and I understand that isn’t worthy of being a main event, and that’s fine. I understand that."

It would seem that even after having his initial bout changed and not being the headline for the UFC's 4th English outting, Bisping has come a long way from TUF winner - and has even made some predictions for some of the other fights on the card.

"I’m pleased Matt Hughes is headlining. He’s a legend in the sport and a Hall of Famer. All the old school fans will be very excited to see him fight. He was a dominant world champion for a long, long time so it’s good UK fans will see someone of that calibre fighting over here."

"I’m really excited by the Brandon Vera and Fabricio Werdum fight. I think that’s probably worthy of a main event because you’ve got two skilled, heavyweight contenders fighting."

"Marcus Davis against Mike Swick is another good fight. They’re two bangers but Swick’s definitely going to get knocked out in that one. Davis has got really heavy hands and I think he’ll put Swick away."