We haven’t heard much from Brian Stann since October, when he was dealt one of the most humbling losses of his career in the form of a second-round submission by Chael Sonnen.
It was Stann’s first loss as a Middleweight, and it came after a fantastic three-fight win streak with all three fights by stoppage, with highlights including the dramatic TKO’ing of both UFC mainstay Chris Leben and international star Jorge Santiago.
Recently, Stann has found himself back in the spotlight after a video emerged where he called out Michael Bisping. And as a fan of both men, that’s definitely one fight I would love to see.
Check out the full video for yourself here. In the video, Stann immediately calls out Bisping when asked who he would like to fight, and says that he didn’t take too kindly to the negative words Michael Bisping had for him after his submission loss.
Stann, a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion, has an overall record of 11-4. Stann went 2-2 as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC before making the aforementioned drop to Middleweight.
Regardless of what weight he competes in, Stann is known as a heavy-handed knockout artist. Of his 11 wins as a professional Mixed Martial Artist, eight of those wins have been by (T)KO.
Michael Bisping, meanwhile, is coming off a somewhat-controversial loss to Chael Sonnen. On a four-fight win-streak, coming off of a season coaching “The Ultimate Fighter” that ended with an incredibly dominant victory over Jason Miller, the fight with Sonnen was the closest Bisping had ever come to a title shot.
With a mixture of solid takedown defense for two out of the three rounds of the fight and solid/crisp striking, a vocal section of the fanbase felt that Bisping did enough to win.
I personally would love to see a Stann/Bisping fight for several reasons. First and foremost, it’d be an all-out brawl. Both men are strikers that go in to finish their opponents, and both men have a large amount of finishes on their records to prove how successful they are at that.
For some reason, people still seem to doubt that Michael Bisping has knockout power, but 14 of his 22 wins as a professional Mixed Martial Artist have been by (T)KO. Stann, meanwhile, definitely does have that aura of a guy that can really KTFO you.
In terms of a pure style-vs.-style fight, I think it would be immensely entertaining to see these two get into the Octagon and try to knock each other out.
In addition, I think this fight is going to get a lot of attention, both in the media and with the fans, so long as it takes place in either America or Britain. This is one fight I’d honestly rather not see in Canada, or Brazil, or anywhere else.
This is the dedicated former Marine, the man whose nickname is “All-American,” taking on the brash, cocky British bad boy. It’s a match-up made in promotional heaven. If you thought the American fans hated him before, just wait until the UFC puts Michael Bisping up against Brian Stann in America.
When it comes to Britain, I can say with confidence that Brian Stann vs. Michael Bisping could easily headline a UFC event across the pond.
Overall, I think this fight makes a whole lot of sense right now. Where they’re at right now in the division, their styles, their stories…it all matches up. This is one fight I definitely hope happens.
Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video-game nerd. For more news, views, previews and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com