Michael Bisping may have gotten a raw deal with the judges scoring, but he should be getting plenty of respect from MMA fans following his performance on the UFC on Fox 2 event.
Bisping stepped in on short notice to take on the No. 2 middleweight in the world in Chael Sonnen and performed very well.
Most MMA fans were already previewing a Sonnen rematch with Anderson Silva and expecting Bisping to simply be a sacrificial lamb. Good thing “The Count” didn’t get the memo.
The Brit stopped a handful of Sonnen takedown attempts and even held the Olympic-caliber wrestler against the cage for a considerable amount of time. When Sonnen was able to get the fight to floor, Bisping worked hard to get back to his feet.
Sonnen said in the post-fight press conference that he never really felt comfortable in the bout and looking back, it’s clear that Bisping did everything he could to throw Sonnen off balance.
I’m sure the last thing Sonnen expected out of Bisping was for him to hold him against the fence and beat the wrestler at his own game. Even if Sonnen managed to take Bisping down, “The Count” either maneuvered back to his feet or looked to slap on a submission.
When Bruce Buffer began reading off the judge’s scores, you could see Bisping grimace after hearing the scorecards being read. He knew he was going to get screwed and shouldn’t have let it to the judges.
Regardless of the loss, Bisping deserves a lot of respect for this fight. His stock in the company likely won’t dip too far, if at all. It may even rise given the fact Bisping took the No. 2 middleweight to his limit and did so on short notice.
Both men were cordial with each other at the post-fight press conference and when asked if he thinks Bisping is title-worthy, Sonnen praised his former adversary.
Bisping was one fight away from realizing his goal but he won’t fall off the face of the Earth. Other than Sonnen, it would be a tough task to argue anyone outside of Bisping deserves the next title shot.
It seems as most fans agree with this sentiment as well judging by the online reaction after the official decision was read. Maybe Bisping has turned the corner with fans and can still be his brash self and have a strong fan base a la Nick Diaz.
Hopefully Bisping can use the loss to motivate him for his next bout while keeping his exciting fighting style.
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