Michael Bisping hoping to retire on top after 'two or three' more fights

— -- UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping plans to have "two or three" more fights before retiring at what he hopes will be the peak of the sport.

The 37-year-old became England's first UFC champion earlier this month when he secured a first-round knockout of Luke Rockhold in Los Angeles.

His unexpected victory, for which he was given little more than two weeks' preparation, vindicated the time he had spent struggling for opportunities when he even spent "occasional" nights sleeping in his car.

He now wants to secure his family's future with defences of his title -- Dan Henderson, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva are opponents he has mentioned -- and then conclude his career with his reputation and health intact.

"I would love to go out on top: two or three defences, something like that," Bisping, who worked in slaughterhouses, factories, as a builder and a DJ before joining the UFC 10 years ago, told the Press Association.

"I don't plan on fighting for very much longer, to be quite frank. A few more fights: a handful, tops.

"[Financial security has] always been the goal. That was the quest from day one. I wanted to give my children a better life.

"Dan Henderson wants to fight: I would like to get revenge for that [2009 defeat]. I would like to take whoever the number one contender is after that.

"Georges St-Pierre has expressed interest: that would be a big fight. Anderson Silva wants a rematch: I would rematch him. We'll see who the first defence will be, and go from there.

"I spoke with Dana [White, the UFC president], immediately after the (Rockhold) fight, and said I would love my first defence to be in Manchester.

"Having a UK champion will help push [the sport's popularity in the UK] on a little bit. Hopefully my first defence will be in Manchester."

Bisping's manager Audie Attar also oversees the career of Conor McGregor, who was last month reported to be close to a fight with retired boxer Floyd Mayweather. Bisping has discussed that fight with Attar, but says he cannot see it taking place.

"I don't think we're ever going to see that fight happen," said the fighter who was born on an army camp in Cyprus and brought up in Clitheroe, Lancashire.

"I don't think it cheapens the sport, I think it would be a spectacle everybody would want to see. If it was boxing, Connor would lose that fight, if it was UFC, mixed martial arts, Connor would win that fight. We're all trying to get paid: the money involved would be immense.

"His manager is my manager and one of my best friends, so it's been spoken about."