UFC title shots don’t grow on trees. No one knows that better than middleweight contender Michael “The Count” Bisping.
Bisping has been chasing a title shot since winning The Ultimate Fighter 3 back in 2006. Since dropping to the 185-pound division, “The Count” has compiled an impressive 8-3 record.
However, with losses to Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen sandwiched between his victories, a shot at UFC gold has eluded the British fighter.
Still though, Bisping feels as though he’s paid his dues through his time slugging it out against the best in the world for the past six years.
That’s why it upset him when Dana White recently indicated that if the newly acquired Hector Lombard can get past Brian Stann in his Octagon debut, he may earn a title shot.
According to Bisping, Lombard is unworthy because he spent his career beating up nobodies.
It does piss me off a little bit, you know? I’ve been slugging away in the UFC for six years now, fighting the best guys in the world and just because Hector Lombard’s been knocking out little part-time fighters who probably hold down jobs full-time and he’s been knocking out people that I haven’t got a clue who they are, I haven’t even heard of them, you know, while I’ve been knocking out the best fighters in the world and fighting the best consistently for six years and he’s going to come in from knocking out John the baker from around the corner and you know, he gets a title shot?
Theatrics and exaggerations aside, it’s difficult to argue with Bisping here.
Lombard may very well be as good as his hype. We simply don’t know. His stunning record of 31-2-1-1 is padded with a “Who’s That?” catalog of opponents.
The only times the Olympic Judoka has ever competed in a major promotion, he lost to Akihiro Gono and Gegard Mousasi in Pride—the same year that Bisping won The Ultimate Fighter 3.
Since then, Lombard has been on a statistically brilliant 24-fight win streak, but he hasn’t fought anyone in even the top 20.
So is it fair that Lombard can spend his career fighting low- to mid-level opponents and then walk into the UFC and get a title shot after only a single win? Probably not.
Does it matter? Heck, no.
Hector Lombard is an unknown commodity to casual UFC fans. That allows them to sell him as a legitimate title challenger and if he can beat Brian Stann, then that’s all the validation they need.
The Cuban-born Lombard is a beast. He’ll be an easy sell with his record and his highlight reel of devastating knockouts—at least to the fans who don’t know or care that he has never defeated a top-shelf fighter.
Fighters like Michael Bisping, who have been with the UFC for years, may view situations like this as unfair, but the UFC needs a constant stream of sellable contenders to keep the divisions fresh and interesting.
Bisping had his chance to earn a title shot back in January. He lost to Chael Sonnen. So it’s not as if he hasn’t had his own opportunities.
With a couple good wins, Bisping will get to the title again. In the meanwhile though, there’s nothing wrong with keeping things moving along with new challengers.
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