Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping is breaking one of his own rules for what he considers a “bucket list fight”, which will headline UFC’s London date on February 27.

Preparing to fight a man still considered ‘The Greatest of All Time’ by many, despite the Englishman claiming, “If you have a history of taking steroids, I’m not fighting you” in an interview with ESPN during the summer, he is now gearing up to face the man behind one of the biggest PED revelations of 2015.

After two legacy-threatening losses to Chris Weidman, Silva’s stock plummeted to an all-time low after he tested positive for steroids following his January meeting with Nick Diaz. Famously, men with chequered PED histories have forced the biggest bumps in the road of Bisping’s career. On at least two occasions, fighters who were receiving the now-banned testosterone replacement therapy cost him a shot at the UFC middleweight championship.

Perhaps, that’s why Bisping became so animated on today’s conference call for UFC London. After dedicating his life to the sport, now as he finally gets the chance to meet the man who stood at the top of his bracket for the majority of tenure at middleweight, there is no longer a belt to contest for.

When asked by Globo who he was talking about in the UFC’s press release when he suggested that others turned down a fight with Silva, the mere mention of polarizing Brazilian Vitor Belfort seemed to ignite something inside of the Brit.

Bisping went on to claim that Silva “should be ashamed of himself” on the back of his drug-related controversy.

“Vitor Belfort turned the fight down,” replied Bisping when asked whom he was talking about. “There you go.”

“And I just want to say something. We’re all chasing a dream and all fighters have a dream of being a champion. You’ve got to do it through hard work and determination.

“The fact of the matter is that Anderson Silva tested positive for not one, not two, but three banned substances inside his body. While I respect him as a fighter, I’ve got to say I lost a lot of respect for him for that.

“This fight represents me trying to beat all of the guys who cheated the system. I have never taken a performance-enhancing drug in my life and anybody that does should be ashamed. You can call yourself a martial artist, but if you take performance-enhancing drugs it is the biggest contradiction you could ever make.

“To be honest, he should be ashamed of himself and I feel like this should be talked about more. I want them to test me as much as they can. Come and take my blood right now. You can get me to pee in a cup every day of this fight camp. I hope that happens and I hope that Anderson is tested many times. He should be tested many times because he failed the test not once, not twice, but three times.”

The Englishman will take an unbeaten record on UK soil into his bout with Silva, and he spoke further on why the status of the MMA icon made him change his stance of fighting athletes with histories of PED use.

“Initially, a while ago, I did say to myself, ‘I’m sick of this I’m over it,’ after fighting so many people with an unfair advantage in their recovery and in their training. I really am sick of it and I’ve fallen foul to it several times now. Vitor, Chael, Dan Henderson and the list goes on,” he outlined.

“I thought if anyone has a history of performance-enhancing drugs I’m not going to fight them, there are plenty of people. Then, when I started to hear the rumors about the Anderson Silva fight I started to think about if I would take it or wouldn’t I.

“I’ve got to say, regardless of what happened, he’s still Anderson Silva. He’s a bucket list fight. He is certainly someone that I’ve always wanted to face. For that reason, I’m willing to forego that and we will meet in February.”

There seems to be an overwhelming feeling in the MMA community that PED use is being clamped down on more than ever. Every week social media threads are comparing before and after shots of certain athletes whose bodies have changed due to the apparent iron fist of USADA getting involved in UFC’s testing.

According to Bisping, the people who have cheated before will always try to “manipulate the system,” despite the evident changes in physiques that have surfaced over the last few months.

“When you look at a lot of the fighters now, you are seeing a difference in physique. That goes without saying. We are seeing differences in people who have tested positive. If these people are willing to cheat in the first place, they’re going to try to continue to cheat. They’re going to try to continue to manipulate that system.

“At the end of the day, if you take performance enhancing drugs you are a coward. Just because they're bringing in advanced testing doesn’t change the fact that you’re still going to be a coward. You’re still going to try and cheat the system. So, yeah, people are going to still try and do it.”

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The Ripple Effect of Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping