UFC title shots don’t come easy, and no one knows this better than perennial middleweight contender Michael Bisping.The longtime UFC star has hovered around the top of the middleweight division for years, but he has yet to earn a title shot.It isn’t li…
UFC title shots don’t come easy, and no one knows this better than perennial middleweight contender Michael Bisping.
The longtime UFC star has hovered around the top of the middleweight division for years, but he has yet to earn a title shot.
It isn’t like the UFC hasn’t given him every opportunity to get over the hump.
After losing to Chael Sonnen in January 2012, Bisping received his second title eliminator bout in a year against Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7. The name was different, but in the end, the result was the same.
Bisping saw another title opportunity slip from his grasp after a second round knockout loss.
“I have no excuses. I had a fantastic training camp, and I felt very confident that I was going to win this fight,” Bisping told UFC commentator Jon Anik after the fight. “He caught me, and he was a better man than me tonight. You win some, you lose some. I am not going away. Trust me, I’m going to be back. I’ll be back at the top of this pile before you [expletive] know it.”
No one questions Bisping’s ability to come back strong and make another run at the UFC title. He is a proven world-class fighter with the skills needed to oust any middle of the pack hopeful looking to break into upper-echelon territory.
The problem for Bisping lies in a tendency to shrink in the spotlight. For whatever reason, he can’t seem to overcome the hurdle of defeating upper-echelon UFC opposition, and he certainly isn’t alone.
Here are 10 UFC fighters who never got over the hump to earn a title shot.
Brock Lesnar burst onto the scene. He was the most feared man in the UFC, he was the future of pay-per-view and everyone in the world was waiting to see what would happen next. Then, he lost, got injured and faded away.There comes a time every year whe…
Brock Lesnar burst onto the scene. He was the most feared man in the UFC, he was the future of pay-per-view and everyone in the world was waiting to see what would happen next. Then, he lost, got injured and faded away.
There comes a time every year where we find ourselves wondering, “What the heck happened to so-and-so?”
Were they outmatched in their fights? Did they get banged up? Or like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, was it just their time to go?
It seems like all fighters fall victim to at least one of three things at the end of their career: time, injuries or a string of bad luck. Regardless of which one of the three it is, it’s inevitable that every year we unofficially have to say goodbye to fighters who run the risk of no longer being relevant in a division. Sure, we’ll catch them on an undercard again and maybe even the first fight of a UFC PPV, but their days of headlining are over.
Here are the top seven fighters that could fade away in 2013.
Going into UFC on FX 7, the odds weren’t exactly favorable for Michael Bisping. Bisping had the daunting task of being the underdog against not only a raucous crowd, but also an intimidating opponent in Vitor Belfort—in Belfort’s home…
Going into UFC on FX 7, the odds weren’t exactly favorable for Michael Bisping. Bisping had the daunting task of being the underdog against not only a raucous crowd, but also an intimidating opponent in VitorBelfort—in Belfort’s home country nonetheless. Furthermore, all of this was with the current middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, sitting ringside.
What was expected by many to be an exciting slugfest between two of the UFC’s toughest, most high-profile middleweights turned out to be a stunning knockout victory for the Rio deJaneiro native. After a first round filled with solid strike exchanges, the fight was ended with 1:27 left in the second round by a thunderous head kick from Belfort.
Classily, Bisping had this to say after the fight:
Congratulations to Vitor. I had an amazing training camp. I felt fantastic. It was a beautiful kick. He caught me and he was a better man than me tonight. You win some; you lose some. I am not going away.
While Bisping may not be going away anytime soon, his chances of being considered “elite” are certainly starting to dissipate. Sure, his overall record (24-5) is impressive, but Bisping will be 34 years old in February and it is starting to look like his recent up-and-down MMA career is on the verge of decline.
Consider this: Seven of Bisping’s 13 wins in the UFC have come against fighters who are no longer associated with the franchise, meaning that he is 6-5 against fighters of his degree—a much less impressive statistic.
After a hard-fought victory over “The All-American,” Brian Stann, on UFC 152, many thought that Bisping was well on the road to a title shot, and UFC President Dana White later promised that the Englishman would get his chance with a win over Belfort. Well, obviously, Belfort and his left leg had a much different plan.
“The Count” is 1-2 in his last three fights after a four-fight win streak dating back to May 2010 with his victory over Dan Miller. After a 14-0 start to his professional MMA career, it is evident that Bisping is not the fighter he used to be, and it looks like his glory days may be over and done with.
It leaves one wondering how and if a win over Belfort would have changed the general public’s opinion of Bisping’s career. While it is unlikely that he would’ve beaten the dominant champion, Anderson Silva, a win against a fighter the level of Belfort would have made a strong case for the argument that Bisping is an elite MMA fighter.
While Bisping may not get another title opportunity, he will likely have a couple of more big fights in his career, largely due to his infamous trash-talking. His always opinionated mouth has recently cooked up a bit of beef with two other middleweight standouts in the UFC, Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch.
With Weidman out with an elbow injury and Boetsch recently losing to Costa Philippou, the race to be considered the top contender in the UFC’s middleweight division was wide open for Bisping, but it is clear that he just was not quite good enough. This opens the door for a potential matchup between Bisping and one of his fellow middleweight counterparts, Boetsch and Weidman, which would certainly make for an exciting middleweight showdown.
As I said earlier, Bisping will probably have a couple of more big fights in his career, but I believe it is more because of his persona and ability to get under people’s skin, rather than his skill level as a fighter.
Don’t get me wrong, Bisping is still an above-average fighter and is one of the better fighters in the UFC today, but I am not sold on him as an elite fighter. He will likely go down as a very good fighter, but not an elite one.
It’s hard to see a good man turned away, but in the world of combative sports, it’s something we just have to accept. After all, MMA is a sport based on men being turned away; one day you’re the hammer, the next day you’re the n…
It’s hard to see a good man turned away, but in the world of combative sports, it’s something we just have to accept. After all, MMA is a sport based on men being turned away; one day you’re the hammer, the next day you’re the nail.
Before we go any deeper, yes, I think Michael Bisping is a good man. Cocky as hell and one of the louder purveyors of smack-talk, but overall he seems to be a good guy in a tough sport, fighting to get what all fighters want: a title shot.
After another setback last night, at the hands of Vitor Belfort, we are left to wonder just how many angles Bisping can approach this from before he finds the formula that’s going to see him win a crack at the belt.
Thus far he’s developed a style that plays to his strengths, and it’s allowed him to win far more than he loses, but if it can’t push him into title contention, then it’s time to mix things up a bit.
Bisping has got a solid base to rebuild from, but what direction is he going to go?
Michael Bisping fell short in his effort to earn a title fight when he was knocked out by Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC on FX 7. The loss has to be particularly devastating for Bisping as it is now the third time in his career that he has…
Michael Bisping fell short in his effort to earn a title fight when he was knocked out by VitorBelfort in the main event of UFC on FX 7.
The loss has to be particularly devastating for Bisping as it is now the third time in his career that he has lost a fight that most believed was essentially a No. 1 contenders’ bout. Having come up short that many times, the question now has to be asked—not only will Bisping ever hold UFC gold, but will he ever even get a chance?
A former The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner as a light heavyweight, Bisping made his move down to 185 pounds back in April 2007 at UFC 83. In his previous bout against Rashad Evans, Bisping was simply overpowered and realized that he needed to make a change. The move down to 185 gave him a new career opportunity.
As good as Bisping has been at 185, the truth is that he has never quite gotten to that top level despite numerous opportunities to get there.
It started at UFC 100 when Bisping had a chance to move to the next level with a chance against former Pride champion Dan Henderson. He failed in that opportunity, getting knocked out by the slugger late in Round 2.
After winning five of his next six fights, Bisping was given another opportunity against ChaelSonnen at UFC on FOX 2. Despite a near comeback late in the fight, Bisping came up short again, losing the decision.
Finally we got to UFC on FX 7 on Saturday night. Although Belfort is certainly still a solid fighter, the consensus seemed to be that if Bisping made it out of Round 1, the Brit would be the one with his hand raised.
As it turned out, he was knocked out yet again, marking the third time that he lost an apparent No. 1 contenders’ bout throughout his UFC career.
Bisping gave a good post-fight speech, telling fans that he’s not going anywhere and that he’ll be back, but at this point, it’s hard to have much confidence in him. He simply doesn’t rise to the occasion for his biggest fights.
I hate to label Bisping as a “choke artist,” but what Michael Bisping has done is actually worse than what Kenny Florian did in his numerous title fights. At least Florian was losing championship fights—Bisping isn’t even getting there.
Bisping fans will note that their fighter is still relatively young and does have a chance to get a championship at some point. But when you look at his body of work in important fights, would you really put your money on it?
Suffering a shoulder injury in November may have been a blessing in disguise for UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman. Since then, fellow top 10 middleweights Tim Boetsch, Alan Belcher and now Michael Bisping have all lost, preventing a t…
Suffering a shoulder injury in November may have been a blessing in disguise for UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman.
Since then, fellow top 10 middleweights Tim Boetsch, Alan Belcher and now Michael Bisping have all lost, preventing a true No. 1 contender from emerging at 185 pounds.
The Serra-Longo Fight Team member feels that it is no coincidence that both he and middleweight champion Anderson Silva are looking to return to the Octagon this summer.
Ill be back in summer and that’s when Anderson wanted to fight..coincidence? I think not : )
“The All-American” is a perfect 9-0 inside the cage, most recently scoring a vicious knockout over Mark Munoz at UFC on FUEL TV 4 this past July.
UFC president Dana White said Bisping would get a title shot with a win over VitorBelfort at UFC on FX 7 last night, but “The Phenom” clearly had other plans, scoring a vintage TKO finish in the second round.
Silva has been the most unstoppable champion in UFC history, successfully defending his belt 10 times while also boasting a perfect 16-0 record inside the UFC banner.
However, Weidman‘s strong wrestling and submission game makes him an interesting matchup for “The Spider.”
Weidman has claimed before that Silva is ducking him. Is now the time to book this matchup given the recent developments in the middleweight division?
Going into