UFC middleweight Michael Bisping was in Canada for his role in the upcoming action flick “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage when he got the opportunity he’d waited 10 years to seize: a title shot.

“My head started going dizzy,” Bisping (28-7 MMA, 18-7 UFC) told SiriusXM’s “The Luke Thomas Show” after replacing injured Chris Weidman (12-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) at UFC 199 against champion Luke Rockhold (15-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC). “So, I immediately took to the streets and went for a five-mile run.”

Every burned calorie counts for Bisping, who said he is now 208-209 pounds. He said he needs to cut 23-24 pounds to make the 185-pound limit required for the title fight, which airs on pay-per-view June 4 from The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

“If I didn’t lose any weight right now, I would have to do a 24-pound weight cut, which I’m not going to do, but you’ve heard people do that before,” he said. “So, if I lose two pounds this week or three pounds this week, I’ll train all the way up to Saturday. I’ll rest Sunday. If I lose three pounds, then I can lose four pounds next week. That’s seven pounds. I’ll be just over the 200-pound limit. It’s doable, but it’s going to be miserable.”

After 10 years in the UFC and twice missing out on title opportunities from pivotal losses, Bisping knows a thing or two about heartache. A loss to Vitor Belfort in 2014 provided the first roadblock, and then a loss to Rockhold in November 2014 created serious doubts he would ever get to fight for a championship.

The popular U.K. fighter shrugged those off losses, though, and proceeded to win three straight, including a decision win over ex-champ Anderson Silva in his previous outing.

So in short, Bisping thinks he can’t be counted out.

“Listen, I’ll put it like this,” he said. “If people can walk around – and I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way to religious people – and you believe the son of God came down to Earth 2,000 years ago, and he killed himself for our sins, and he can walk on water, and there’s a God up there looking after ourselves, and if you get on your knees and pray to him that things will change, if you can believe that, then you can believe that I can knock the (expletive) out of Luke Rockhold two weeks from Saturday.”

Still, before he got that phone call, Bisping had his doubts he would ever realize his dream of becoming a UFC champion.

“That’s why I’ve got to take this title shot,” he said. “That’s why I put my name into the mix. (Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza) was ahead of me (in the UFC rankings). I don’t know. I’ve been here for so long, I felt like I was never going to get my shot. (However) it came around, so here we go.

“Is it perfect? No. Would I have liked more time? Yes. Am I going to go out there and fight with everything I’ve got? Absolutely. I’m going to take this opportunity, and I’m going to make the most out of it. I’m going to take that belt. I’m going to be the champion. I’m going to stick it to everybody that doubted me throughout my career.”

Bisping shot down contender Uriah Hall as a worthy challenger due to a previous loss to Robert Whittaker, and he said Gegard Mousasi is a talented fighter who lacks star power. Meanwhile, he had no sympathy for the fighters who couldn’t take the opportunity, among them Weidman, who sustained a neck injury and was forced to withdraw.

“I have zero relationship with Chris,” Bisping said. “He hasn’t had nice things to say about me over the years. I’ll say this: Chris Weidman seems like a decent individual, and he’s a hell of a fighter. He really is, but he’s out of the equation right now.

“You’ve got to want this. I want this. I’m not saying Chris doesn’t want it, but you make it happen. You make it happen. Of course you do. He’s out of the equation.”

In particular Bisping took aim at Souza, who reportedly needs surgery for a knee injury.

“I think he’s having his balls lopped off,” Bisping said. “He’s talking about title shots. Here it is for the taking. Do you not think I have a bad knee? I’ve torn my posterior cruciate ligament four days before the final of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and decided not to do surgery.

“My knee hurts every time I take a step. It clicks like hell every time I walk down stairs. After every training session, it’s agony. I have to ice it every single day, but I want to fight. I want to be the champion. You make these sacrifices. ‘Jacare’ wouldn’t do it. Chris pulled out. Everyone else is testing positive for steroids. Here we are. It’s me, and I’m going to make the most of it.”

Bisping said his first fight with Rockhold, which took place at UFC Fight Night 55, was marred by a head-butt that blurred his vision, which led to a powerful head kick that set up a fight-ending guillotine.

This time around, he said, he’ll fight more aggressively and keep Rockhold from opening up in exchanges.

“He beat me fair and square, and good for him,” Bisping said. “But I’ll tell you this: In that fight, I felt very comfortable up until that head kick connected. In this first round, I was doing very good. I was faster than him. He connected a couple of times, but I didn’t really feel any power. I wasn’t like, ‘Holy crap! I’ve got to watch out because that was insane!’ He tried to take me down. He didn’t feel particularly strong. I know he’s technically very good, but I’ve been in there with him. I’ve felt him. I’ve sparred him for five rounds once, and I whooped his ass there.”

There’s another reason Bisping needs to be aggressive. With only a few weeks to condition himself, he probably won’t have the stamina for a five-round fight.

“I’m going to take this guy out of there,” he said. “I’m not going out there to fight five rounds. If I try that, I lose. I’m not going to have the conditioning. I’m going to go back to that animalistic fighting style, which I have inside me. I’m going to go out on my sword, and I tell you what: I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. Luke Rockhold better be ready.”

For more on UFC 199, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.