Mark Wahlberg might the only man who can get Conor McGregor to make a movie.
Before his shocking loss to Nate Diaz last month, McGregor was set to make his Hollywood debut alongside Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson and Tony Jaa in the upcoming xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. Diesel seemed excited about the two working on a project together and the thought of McGregor appearing in an over-the-top action movie made sense to everyone. But then UFC 196 happened, and McGregor has since suspended his plans to follow Ronda Rousey’s big-screen blueprint because he doesn’t want the distraction.
That means the only ass kickings McGregor will be giving for the foreseeable future will remain in the Octagon – his rematch with Diaz is set for UFC 200 in July.
Anyway, we now know who will replace McGregor in the movie: Fellow MMA fighter Michael Bisping, who broke the news via a very janky Instagram post (wherever Xander Cage has been hiding, it wasn’t at design school), then followed that up with an on-set photo of him hanging out with Jaa and Nina Dobrev. While Bisping doesn’t have same star power as McGregor – there’s a strong possibility you’ve never heard of him before – he is an MMA specialist with a 28-7 record who was recognized as one of the UFC’s best Middleweight fighters earlier this year. He also happens to be British (and his nickname is “The Count“) so they don’t have to worry about him putting on a fake accent to be an international villain.
You’ve got some big shoes to fill, Bisping. Make it, uh, count.
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