Issue 096

December 2012

Love him or hate him (there seems to be no inbetween), 23-4 UFC middleweight Michael Bisping is the most consistently successful, attention-grabbing British MMA fighter ever. Here are five of his greatest moments

1 CHAEL SONNEN, UFC ON FOX 2, 2012

With four straight wins over Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Jorge Rivera and Jason Miller, Michael Bisping was lined up for a match with Demian Maia in the opening fight of the UFC’s second live event on Fox in the US. But when Chael Sonnen’s opponent Mark Munoz dropped out, Bisping was matched with the motormouthed wrestler in the fight that many fans believed should have been made in the first place. Another strong showing by Bisping, he appeared to do enough to win the first two rounds but clearly lost the third. That all 

three judges went for Sonnen wasn’t the biggest robbery in MMA history, but it was highly controversial. With the winner guaranteed a title shot at 185lb king Anderson Silva, Bisping was left out in the cold. But, his performance cemented his position as one of the division’s very best and even won over some of those who predicted he’d be destroyed by the American.

2 ULTIMATE FIGHTER 3 WINNER, 2006

Those in the know, and especially those familiar with the British scene, were well aware that Bisping would likely dominate the light heavyweight portion of The Ultimate Fighter 3 from the moment he was confirmed as a contestant. What they didn’t know was that his rivalry with fellow Team Ortiz fighter Matt Hamill and his honest, outspoken ways would make him an instant star. Intimidating enough after his first fight that a handful of eliminated fighters refused a second chance at the competition if it meant facing him, Bisping was in superb form for the live finale in Las Vegas. Battering a gore-soaked Josh Haynes to defeat late in the second was even sweeter given some of Haynes’ xenophobic pre-fight comments about the Englishman.  

3 YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA, UFC 120, 2010

After going 1-1 post Denis Kang – dropping a close decision (with a disappointing performance) to fading superstar Wanderlei Silva and then comfortably outpointing the ever-tough Dan Miller – Bisping main-evented London’s UFC 120 against the undersized judoka, Yoshihiro Akiyama. The pair set a new attendance record for MMA in the UK with over 17,000 in the building and entertained each and every one with a great fight. In landing twice as many shots as Akiyama and, by the end, treating the exhausted Japanese-Korean star like a punching bag, Bisping simply set too fast a pace, moved too well and was too slick for his game opponent.

4 DENIS KANG, UFC 105, 2009

Bisping still had plenty critics to prove wrong against Denis Kang in Manchester. Whilst he’d gone 7-2 by impressively beating Eric Shafer, Elvis Sinosic and Chris Leben, and narrowly losing to Rashad Evans, he’d also won a talked-about decision over Hamill and was coming off a crushing KO defeat to fellow TUF 9 coach Dan Henderson. Ultimately pocketing a well-earned ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus, Bisping was floored early by the dangerous Kang, who controlled most of the first round, but found no way through Bisping’s superb ground defense. In the second, Bisping twice dropped Kang, opened up several cuts, dominated with takedowns and positioning on the mat before forcing the stoppage after some ferocious punches to the face and knees to the body. One of the very best performances of Bisping’s career.

5 ULTIMATE FIGHTER 14 COACH AND CONQUEROR, 2011 

After his annihilation of Jorge Rivera at UFC 127 in an ill-tempered fight where Rivera’s side did everything they could to make things personal (and paid for it), Bisping was back for his third TUF. This 14th season, was, in entertainment terms, a resounding success. Seemingly more comfortable than ever in playing the ‘bad guy’, Bisping and ‘wacky’ UFC returnee Jason Miller produced the most consistently watchable season in years with their constantly growing, ever-more personal rivalry. The fight itself delivered too – for Bisping, at least. ‘Mayhem’ spent most of the first round clinging to him like a needy koala, and the second and third taking punishment, as Bisping exploited Miller’s lack of conditioning. Bisping ended the fight in the third with a barrage of knees to the body, and punches to the head.