Fights are great.
Well, professional fights are. No one wants to watch two idiots sloppily brawling outside a fast-food joint at 2 a.m. No one wants to be those idiots either, come to think of it.
But when combat is done well, handled by the professionals and celebrated by thousands in the stands and perhaps millions watching at home, there are few things better.
Except for fight hype when Michael Bisping is involved. Most reasonable fans would trade the last 10 Francis Carmont fights for one five-minute interview of The Count trashing his opponent.
He just has a knack for it. He knows how to dislike a guy, how to amp himself up to do something about that dislike and how to make the MMA world want to watch him act on it all.
But not everyone is watching out of love. Many are watching to see Bisping get knocked into next year, and every time it doesn’t happen the appetite to see it becomes that much more insatiable.
It could be the dapper attire and neatly parted hair, it could be the unwavering belief in himself despite all reasonable odds and hurdles, it could be the fact that he’s been talking so long that people just want him to stop.
None of that matters, because he gets people interested.
One person he’s got interested? Luke Rockhold.
For months now, the two have been jawing back and forth and working to set up a meeting. Aside from each wearing Vitor Belfort’s leg like a beard at one point, they have nothing in common beyond the ability to weigh 185 pounds when it matters and have grown genuinely disdainful of one another as a result.
They’ll get to settle that in November, but the time leading up to the fight will be almost as good.
Rest assured that their meeting will deliver in terms of entertainment, as they’re an appealing clash of stand-up styles. The only edge may be to Rockhold in terms of age, but the other side of that argument is that Bisping has extensive experience from which to draw.
However, the sheer amount of time they’ll have to spend around one another, promoting the fight and doing press, is the stuff dreams are made of for a fan of pre-fight banter. Trash talk and disrespect will surely get the better of sportsmanship and integrity, and by the time they weigh in some onstage jostling and threats of murder are a certainty.
Then, once one guy knocks the other guy out on an otherwise forgettable Saturday night in Australia, they’ll probably shake hands and forget all about the feud that got them there.
But the fans will have the fight and the build-up to it, which is really the true main event in the Bisping-Rockhold saga. Don’t miss it.
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