UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping being sued over alleged gym attack

UFC middleweight king Michael Bisping is currently gearing up for a massive, UFC 217 showdown with Georges St-Pierre. Apparently, however, he’s also got a very different kind of battle on his plate, as he’s being sued over an alleged attack on a fellow gym-goer in Anaheim.

According to a report from TMZ, Bisping is being sued by one Antonio Georgakopoulos. Georgakopoulos claims that, after taking weights that Bisping was still using, Bisping lost his temper, and called him a “little punk” and an “idiot.” From there, Georgakopoulos alleges that Bisping grabbed his throat, and that he would have lost consciousness were it not for the intervention of other gym-goers. Georgakopoulos claims that Bisping then challenged him to “take this outside”…

According to Georgakopoulos, Bisping was then arrested for assault and battery. In a stark clash with these claims, however, the Anaheim Police Department told TMZ that no arrest was made. After taking a report, the APD redirected the case to the District Attorney’s Office, where it was determined that there was not enough evidence against the UFC star to proceed with any kind of charges.

While this would seem like the logical end of this strange debacle, Georgakopoulos has instead opted to sue, telling TMZ that he’s had to see doctors for his injuries, and that he now experiences nightmares and anxiety as a result of this alleged incident. He’s targeting Bisping for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and more.

While there doesn’t seem to be a lot of evidence against our UFC middleweight champ, it will be interesting to see how this plays out, and whether or not this ordeal joggles Bisping’s preparations for his UFC 217 headlining showdown with Georges St-Pierre.

Michael Bisping won the UFC middleweight title in 2016, with a beautiful knockout defeat of Luke Rockhold. From there, he defended the title with a close decision of his rival Dan Henderson.

Do you think Michael Bisping will retain the UFC middleweight crown at UFC 217?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/25/2017.