(“Are you not entertained?” Rest assured, Mike, we most certainly are. / Photo via Getty Images)
Jack Brown has been turning out consistently interesting question and answer sessions for our friends over at MixedMartialArts.com recently and his latest, with Michael Bisping, is definitely worth a read. Brown has the British superstar discuss everything from past opponents and performances, to his childhood and his own young family.
For the most part, Bisping seems to open himself up, remove himself from his usual shtick, ie. the finest in British dickishness, and reveal himself as interesting. There is one particular moment in the conversation that Bisping becomes the Mike we’ve all grown to love, ie. the finest in British dickishness.
No, we’re not talking about when Bisping continues to bash the man – Vitor Belfort – who just crushed him with ease, as a “boring bastard.” That’s funny, Michael, because your head kick KO loss to Belfort was pretty exciting to watch for everyone else…
In any case, the part of Brown’s excellent interview with Bisping that stands out the most is when the middleweight discusses his next opponent, Alan Belcher. Apparently not aware that Belcher has a better record at middleweight than he, and that Bisping himself has lost two out of his last three while Belcher has won four out of his last five fights, the Brit does not think his American foe is any good.
Belcher is so horrible, in fact, that Bisping already knows who he will blame should he lose to him. No, he won’t blame himself – that would be too easy and make too much sense.
“If I lose, there is something seriously wrong. I’ve told my coaches that if I don’t win, you’re all f__ing fired because you’re doing something wrong,” Bisping said.
That must have lit a motivating fire under the collective ass of Bisping’s miserable coaches. Talk to a hundred MMA fighters, and you’ll probably get 85-90 of them saying one of the reasons they love participating in this particular sport is because winning or losing is all on you. You’re success and failure doesn’t depend on a teammate botching a pass from you or committing a foul or going off sides, this writer has been told countless times.
If you win, you can enjoy the fruit of your hard work, and if you lose, you have no one to blame but yourself. Bisping’s attitude is an interesting inversion of that healthy attitude.
Mike would remind those fighters that, sure, it is all up to you, except for, you know, TRT, science, judges, the moon’s position in the sky, etc.
Point is, there is always someone to blame when you’re not good enough to beat the guy in front of you, according to Bisping. For his sake, we hope that Bisping’s advance excuse-making and underestimating of Belcher isn’t getting in the way of his training for the fight. Can’t imagine how it could be.