Michael Bisping isn’t quite the fighter he once was, but he’s still got a deep gas tank.
And endurance turned out to be the difference in Bisping’s entertaining middleweight scrap with C.B. Dollaway at UFC 186. Bisping maintained his pace, while Dollaway slowed over the second half of the bout, powering Bisping to a unanimous decision victory at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
The judges’ scores were 29-28 across the board.
“CB Dollaway, he’s tough man,” Bisping said. “Hell of a fighter. I thought he would be easier, but this is the UFC and everyone can fight.”
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Dollaway (15-7) got Bisping’s attention late in the first round, when Dollaway cracked him with a huge left hand which dropped Bisping and followed up with a ground-and-pound flurry, which did enough damage to take the round.
The Power MMA fighter managed to tag Bisping (26-7) several more times in the second round, but by the fight’s midpoint, it became clear Dollaway was beginning to flag. Bisping sprawled Dollaway’s takedown attempts and began to land cleanly with him combos.
Bisping, whose three previous fights were scheduled five-round main events, continued to turn on the heat in round three and while he never came close to a finish, Dollaway could never turn up the heat.
The win was Bisping’s 12th at middleweight in the UFC, which ties him with Chris Leben for third-best all-time. Bisping won for the second time in his past three fights and has alternated wins and losses over his past eight.
“Believe me, I’m going nowhere,” Bisping said. “I’m far from done. I will be the champion one day.”