Issue 095
December 2012
UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping hails the influence being coached by Ortiz on TUF had on his entire fighting life
After more than six years as a UFC contender, it’s almost hard to remember a time when Michael Bisping was just another cast member on The Ultimate Fighter, hoping to make his way into the Octagon. But it was a June 2006 second-round stoppage of Josh Haynes that saw ‘The Count’ crowned champion of TUF 3, and officially launch his UFC career.
It was UFC president Dana White, of course, who presented Bisping with his award and the all important six-figure contract. However, it was his coach on the season, Tito Ortiz, who helped guide him to victory.
Then competing up at 205lb, Bisping was one of eight light heavyweights in the season’s tournament, and when he caught wind that Ortiz and his longtime rival Ken Shamrock would be serving as coaches, he knew exactly what he wanted to happen.
“To be honest, we didn’t know who the coaches were going to be, but when we did, I knew I wanted to be on Tito’s team, 100%,” Bisping tells Fighters Only. “He was definitely the choice for me. He was the more high-profile fighter, and I thought my style would be a better fit. It turned out I wasn’t mistaken. Shamrock’s coaching was abysmal, while Tito’s was very, very good. It was very beneficial being on his team.”
Ortiz, nearly four years removed from his run as UFC champion, had largely enjoyed the role of villain in his MMA career. But TUF 3 allowed a different side of ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ to shine through, and Bisping said he enjoyed the experience.
“I had no complaints whatsoever,” says The Count. “In fact, I was very impressed with the coaching. I came away with some tips. It wasn’t necessarily a new perspective – I always trained hard – but I was enthused by the coaches, and it added to what I was already doing in my own training camps. Tito certainly got involved. He went in there with a good attitude and wasn’t afraid to get a sweat on himself and get involved with the practice. He cared. He wanted us to win the fights, no question.”
Bisping said he took some of Ortiz’s ideas and philosophies back to his home camp, and the efforts saw the Brit rattle off wins over Matt Hamill, Elvis Sinosic and Eric Schafer before losing a split decision to future champion Rashad Evans.
“When I went back home, I think I was kind of a pain in the ass to all my team that I was training with at the time,” Bisping recalls. “I upset a lot of people in the gym, and I probably still do sometimes. When I go to train, I go to train. I’m not there to f**k around. I’m not there to tell stories about when I went out last night. I don’t want to hear stories about what girls guys have hooked up with or whatever. I’m there to train, period, because this is what I do.
“I came back after TUF and the gym I was at at the time, people were all messing around. I kept saying to them, ‘Listen, I’m in the f**king UFC now. I’m not here to f**k around now. We weren’t doing this on The Ultimate Fighter. Come on, let’s get professional.’ I’m sure they were sick to death of hearing me say that. But that was me.”
Bisping would ultimately earn a 4-1 mark in the UFC’s light-heavyweight division before dropping to 185lb, where he has retained a perennial contender tag since his 2008 entrance intothe weight class. Ultimately, his time with Ortiz now seems like a distant memory, but Bisping said it was an influential span in his career, and the UFC Hall of Famer provided an excellent role model for The Count.
And yes, Bisping would prove to be every bit as outspoken and controversial as his former TUF coach, but the Brit insists that was always him. Still, he’ll always be appreciative of the man who helped him start down the right path.
“I didn’t model myself on Tito whatsoever, but certainly when I got to the UFC, when I got to The Ultimate Fighter, I was star-struck,” Bisping says. “Obviously, the guy was the light heavyweight champion of the world. That demands a certain level of respect. So yeah, I was a fan. I listened to everything he had to say. This guy had been to the top, and that’s where I wanted to go.
“As a young guy coming up, I would have been a fool not to listen to him. Was it love at first fight? No, I don’t think so. He p**sed me off a lot on show. We butted heads quite a lot – I’m quite a strong personality too – but ultimately the coaching was second-to-none, to be honest. It was fantastic, and I was very, very happy to be on his team.”
So Cal lifestyle suits ‘The Count’
While it didn’t take place until six years after serving under ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,’ Michael Bisping did recently relocate to Tito Ortiz’s hometown. The English native said the move to California has proven a wise decision in both his personal and professional life.
“I love it here,” Bisping says, looking out in the direction of the Pacific Ocean. “It’s the best thing our family ever did. I absolutely love it in California. Training-wise, professionally-wise, personal life, for the kids – everything is there, and we’re very, very happy. We love it in California.”
Bisping said Ortiz hasn’t exactly served as his Huntington Beach tour guide. However, he did insist the UFC Hall of Famer has proven a suitable ambassador for the city.
“We don’t really have that type of relationship,” Bisping says. “When we see each other, we’ll stop and we’ll talk about training and all the rest of it, but he’s not taking me out and showing me the high and low points of Huntington Beach. But we have mutual friends, so I have spoken to him a little bit.”
Prior to Ortiz’s decision to retire, following a July loss to Forrest Griffin, Bisping said the two had contemplated working together in preparation for the card, where ‘The Count’ was originally expected to face Tim Boetsch. A knee injury forced Bisping to withdraw from the matchup, but the middleweight contender said an always-concerned Ortiz actually recommended a local doctor for treatment.
“We tried to train with each other a few times,” Bisping admits. “His last fight and my fight were going to be on the same fight card, originally, and we were going to do training camp together. Then I hurt my knee, so that kind of messed things up.
“I remember when I hurt my knee. I called him up and I said, ‘Listen, Tito, sorry, man. I’m not going to be able to make it training camp.’ He was very understanding, actually, and he insisted I see his doctor and this and that. Tito always likes to offer advice to people. He’s a good man to know.”
Becoming first British UFC champ still driving Bisping
While the UFC’s 185lb division currently boasts more contenders than it has at any other time in recent memory, Bisping believes he’s still destined to one-day wrap UFC gold around his waist. And while current middleweight champion Anderson Silva has a light heavyweight bout in his immediate future and a potential catchweight superfight with Georges St Pierre on the horizon, Bisping hopes he’s able to take the belt from ‘The Spider.’
“Listen, that’s every fighter’s dream: to take the title from the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” Bisping says. “If I never fought again, I’d still go down in history. That would be amazing, and that’s obviously what I’d like to do.
“I want to fight the best guys, and with Anderson, you can’t help but admire the guy and what he’s achieved. When I’m done and retired, I’d love to be able to say, ‘I got my shot at Anderson Silva,’ and of course I plan on beating the guy. I’d feel somewhat robbed if I was fighting for this long at the same time as him and I never got a chance to fight him. That would be absolute s**t.”
And a win over Silva would prove doubly historic for Bisping, who could go down as not only the man to take the belt from the Brazilian superstar but would also become the first-ever UFC title holder from the UK. Bisping believes it’s only a matter of time until the organization boasts its first British champion, and he hopes to be the one to earn that acclaim.
“I’m only 33,” Bisping adds. “I plan on doing this until I’m around 40 years old, but I want to make history. I want to be that guy. Listen, eventually someone from the UK is going to win a title. I want that guy to be me. Of course, I’ll be supportive of anyone from the UK that wins the title, but I’ll be honest, if someone beat me to it, I’d be seething. I’d shake their hand, and then as soon as I got around the corner, I’d be calling them an ass because I’d be jealous.”
...
