UFC title shots don’t come easy, and no one knows this better than perennial middleweight contender Michael Bisping.
The longtime UFC star has hovered around the top of the middleweight division for years, but he has yet to earn a title shot.
It isn’t like the UFC hasn’t given him every opportunity to get over the hump.
After losing to Chael Sonnen in January 2012, Bisping received his second title eliminator bout in a year against Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7. The name was different, but in the end, the result was the same.
Bisping saw another title opportunity slip from his grasp after a second round knockout loss.
“I have no excuses. I had a fantastic training camp, and I felt very confident that I was going to win this fight,” Bisping told UFC commentator Jon Anik after the fight. “He caught me, and he was a better man than me tonight. You win some, you lose some. I am not going away. Trust me, I’m going to be back. I’ll be back at the top of this pile before you [expletive] know it.”
No one questions Bisping’s ability to come back strong and make another run at the UFC title. He is a proven world-class fighter with the skills needed to oust any middle of the pack hopeful looking to break into upper-echelon territory.
The problem for Bisping lies in a tendency to shrink in the spotlight. For whatever reason, he can’t seem to overcome the hurdle of defeating upper-echelon UFC opposition, and he certainly isn’t alone.
Here are 10 UFC fighters who never got over the hump to earn a title shot.