Michael Bisping Not Calling it Quits After UFC Fight Night 122 Defeat

It wasn’t the most eloquent way to put things, but Michael Bisping’s confirmation that he plans to keep fighting after a knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday was very, well, Bisping-esque.

“Kelvin is a great guy, but unfortunately it’s going to take a bigger pile of shit to get rid of me,” Bisping said after succumbing to a brual left hook and follow-up punches from his opponent 2:30 into the opening round of their UFC 122 headlining bout in Shanghai.

Bisping took the bout on short notice after original Gastelum foe Anderson Silva was pulled from the card due to a potential anti-doping violation. There was some question as to whether “The Count” was in the proper condition to take another fight so soon after losing the middleweight title to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 217, but the Englishman assured the masses he was fine in the days leading up to the fight.

It was the second consecutive defeat for Bisping after a career-defining run that saw him finally capture UFC gold while besting the likes of Luke Rockhold, Silva and Dan Henderson as part of a five-fight winning streak. The 38-year-old remained in good spirits even in defeat.

“I just want to say congratulations to Kelvin Gastelum, a job well done tonight,” Bisping said. “I was enjoying myself. He caught me with a good shot. God bless Kelvin. He’s young. I’ve done this for a long time. I’m getting old.”

Still, it appears that Bisping will soldier on for at least one more Octagon appearance. He has recently hinted that he would like to end his career at UFC Fight Night 127 in London on March 17.

“Yeah I’d love to fight in London,” Bisping told Fox Sports after losing to St. Pierre at UFC 217. “Of course, I’d love my last fight to be there. We’ll see what happens.”