It has been a long and arduous road for Michael Bisping on the way to his first UFC title shot. With more than 10 years and 25 fights in the UFC, the Brit had earned the dubious record of having the most UFC wins without ever fighting for a belt.
But despite his shortcomings in regards to title contention, Bisping has paved a career full of exciting fights and memorable moments.
So, in honour of his UFC 199 middleweight championship fight with Luke Rockhold, here are Bisping’s five most memorable UFC moments:
5. Defeated Elvis Sinosic at UFC 70 in hometown of Manchester (April 21, 2007)
After Bisping won TUF 3, he became one of the UFC’s first modern international stars and his win over Sinosic at the UFC’s debut event in Manchester solidified that. Sinosic was a former title challenger to Tito Ortiz and despite a losing record was a tough test for the young British fighter. In front of 15,000 excited fans, Bisping weathered a knockdown and submission attempt from the Australian veteran to pound him out to a stoppage victory. The win marked Bisping’s third straight in the UFC and his first of many in his home country.
4. Came back from near defeat to finish Denis Kang (Nov. 14, 2009)
In his first fight back from his devastating knockout loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100, Bisping fought the Canadian striker in his return to his hometown of Manchester. Despite being rocked and almost finished in the first round, Bisping showed resilience and brutalized Kang in the second to earn a stoppage win. Joe Rogan exclaimed it was Bisping’s best career performance at the time and it perfectly highlighted the toughness and grit the Englishman has been known for throughout the years.
3. Finished Jorge Rivera in heated and controversial fight (Feb. 27, 2011)
A huge portion of Bisping’s appeal stems from the villainous persona he displayed in the lead-up to his UFC 127 fight with Rivera.
Rivera got under his skin and during the fight Bisping landed an illegal knee to a downed Rivera then basked in his handiwork. He finished the job and TKO’d “El Conquistador” in the second. Right after the win, Bisping spat in the direction of Rivera’s corner and insulted him. Bisping was fined and several notable fighters like Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen condemned his actions and called him out. It wasn’t a flattering moment in Bisping’s career but it raised his prominence as a fighter fans loved to hate.
2. Became first European fighter to win The Ultimate Fighter (June 24, 2006)
Like UFC Hall of Famers, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar before him, Bisping began his UFC with an appearance on the hit reality TV series. Under the guidance of coach Tito Ortiz, Bisping defeated Kristian Rothaermel and fellow Brit Ross Pointon to advance to the finals where he finished Josh Haynes to become TUF 3. At this point, Bisping was still a fledgling prospect with a thick English accent but would eventually grow into the multi-talented fighter and MMA personality he is today.
1. Upset Anderson Silva in home country of England (Feb. 27, 2016)
For better or worse, Bisping was known as the UFC’s premiere gatekeeper. A fighter who was good enough to be ranked but not quite good enough to be a true contender. Bisping beat all the fighters he was expected to beat and lost to all the fighters he wasn’t — apart from Tim Kennedy in 2014 (Bisping lost as the slight favourite).
Everything changed against Silva. Despite being unbeaten in England, Bisping was a 3-1 underdog against the former middleweight champion and a man many consider the greatest MMA fighter of all time. But that didn’t faze Bisping one bit. He relentlessly pursued Silva and knocked him down twice within the first two rounds. A flying knee from Silva almost ended his night prematurely but he persevered and won a unanimous five-round decision. The victory was the biggest of Bisping’s career and cemented his legacy as a likely Hall of Famer.
