In praise of Michael Bisping
Raplh Welch on Michael Bisping: “The new breed of UFC talent, for all their wonderful athleticism, would do well to look at their elders and learn a thing or two.”
In a piece for Britain’s BT Sports, UGer Ralph Welch looks at the ever controversial Michael Bisping, who fights Cung Le on Saturday in the main even of UFN 48, live on UFC Fight Pass. While “The Count” never got a title shot, each time he was close, vs. Dan Henderson, vs. Wanderlei Silva, vs. Chael Sonnen, and vs. Vitor Belfort he fought someone known or believed to be on PEDs, either sanctioned or not.
Further, while some bristle at his trash talk, Michael Bisping has put asses in seats worldwide.
Michael refused to go away quietly. He made noise. Lots of noise. In an age where too many of his cohorts have fallen silent, The Count realized he could use his own verbosity as a weapon. He embraced his role as the pantomime villain, goading his opponents in the public arena, maximizing his minutes every time he was within spitting distance of a microphone.
It’s a mystery to me that so many professional pugilists seem to have forgotten the heritage of prizefighting. Personal rivalries, deep-seated dislikes and embellished animosity are still the bread and butter of selling a fight to the masses. The new breed of UFC talent, for all their wonderful athleticism, would do well to look at their elders and learn a thing or two.
At its core this is still a sport reliant on TV, tickets and t-shirts. Salesmen like Bisping are few and far between. That’s what makes him such a valuable commodity on the roster and a man whose talents are sincerely appreciated in the corridors of power at UFC headquarters in Vegas.
And so it is that Bisping finds himself headlining in the Far East, refusing to give up on a dream that seems more distant than ever before. His recent loss to Tim Kennedy , thankfully a man whose blood work has always been as clean as a whistle, was a hammer blow. It didn’t take long for those same naysayers to find their voice once again. Another defeat could signal the end.
Yet, perhaps this time fortune finally favors him. At the age of 42, his opponent Cung Le is locked in a battle with Old Father Time, the only undefeated fighter in MMA history. The decorated kickboxer and former Strikeforce middleweight champion has been out of the Octagon since November 2012. At his age a two-year absence could have lethal consequences. This is a profession where miliseconds make or break careers. A fighter’s pride never dies, but his speed and reflexes ebb away as the clock ticks on your time in the spotlight.
This is a very winnable fight. And the scalp of Cung Le is still a worthy trophy even if the value has depreciated of late. There may be moments in Macao where Bisping has to go back to the trenches and make it ugly. He won’t mind that. You don’t live through eight long years in the UFC without a primeval instinct for survival.
I expect The Count to emerge victorious on Saturday and keep his title aspirations alive. Given the demands of a rapidly expanding schedule, the UFC needs all the star attractions it can get. Who knows what may happen over the next few months? How many title fights have been sabotaged by injury? Michael’s the type of guy you could drop in at a moment’s notice and keep a card intact.
All he needs is a little bit of luck. Goodness knows, he deserves it.
Ralph Welch is a MMA colmunist who can be followed on Twitter and on The Championship Rounds podcast.