Title ambitions remain deeply held by old, hungry dog Bisping
Michael Bisping: “There’s plenty of fight left in this old dog. I’m as hungry as I’ve ever been. I still believe and I’m out to show you guys I’m not just talking.”
Michael “The Count” Bisping has been fighting in the UFC for close to a decade. He won TUF 3 and went on to coach TUF 13. He won Fight of the Night, three times. Perennially in top 10, Bisping has never had a title shot.
The Count is 36 years old, and doubtless has a bright future in the sport as an analyst of commentator, but he wants a title shot, bad. 16-7 overall, Bisping has alternated losses and wins his last eight, and goes into his fight with Thales Leites Saturday night coming off a win over C.B. Dollaway at UFC 186.
By contrast, Leites is 8-0 his last eight fights, five of them in the UFC. Title shots come from streaks, and Saturday is an opportunity to get one rolling for Bisping.
“I’ve never lost faith in myself or in my ability to win the fights I need to win to get to where I want to go,” said Bisping to Kevin Iole for Yahoo Sports. “Yeah, I’ve had win, loss, win, loss, and no fighter wants to do that. I take a little solace in that I’ve been fighting the very best in the division, but I’ll admit, no matter what, it’s not what I want. C.B. Dollaway was a good win for me, but the truth is, I never lost faith in myself. I know what I’m capable of.
“My coaches are very confident in my ability. If I wasn’t able to do this, if I was doing it just to cash paychecks, certainly my boxing coach, Jason Parillo, he wouldn’t be behind me and he wouldn’t support me. But that’s not what I’m trying to do, cash out before the end of my career. I’m still trying to track that title.”
“(Leites) is a big guy. I squared up with him yesterday, and he’s certainly got a size advantage on me. He’s got a 79-inch reach. He’s a big guy and with the small gloves we wear, he can pack a punch. But I’ve taken a close look at his fights. I have watched his old fights and I’ve looked at his recent fights and to be brutally honest, I don’t really see that much of a difference … I don’t really see that progression.”
“There’s plenty of fight left in this old dog. I’m as hungry as I’ve ever been. I still believe and I’m out to show you guys I’m not just talking. I want to prove my point by the way I perform.”
Michael Bisping fights Thales Leites in the main event of UFC Fight Night 72, on July 18, 2015 at the The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland. And Kevin Iole will be there Octagon side to cover it.
