Tag: michael bisping

Why Michael Bisping Does Not Deserve to Fight for an Interim Title

Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping are scheduled to meet on Jan. 19 at UFC on FX 7. This should be an exciting contest that will help clarify the contender picture in the middleweight division. However, a win for either fighter will still leav…

Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping are scheduled to meet on Jan. 19 at UFC on FX 7. This should be an exciting contest that will help clarify the contender picture in the middleweight division. However, a win for either fighter will still leave a great deal lacking in proving that they are title-worthy. Surprisingly, Bisping believes this contest is more meaningful.

Wrote the veteran British fighter on his website (h/t opposingviews.com):

Anderson won’t be fighting until May – and even then it looks like it won’t be a middleweight title defense. According to my boss and their boss – Mr Dana F White – Anderson and GSP will have a super-fight in May and who knows what happens then? Anderson could win and then fight Jon Jones at light heavyweight in September and go the entire year – 18months and more – since defending the middleweight belt.

Anderson Silva fought last month at UFC 153 and won in dominant fashion. He has 16 consecutive
UFC wins and 10 title defenses. He is the universally recognized pound-for-pound king and is often discussed as the greatest of all time.

There is no debate that he is the best in his division. Therefore, there is no reason whatsoever for anyone to hold any other title in that division nor to suggest that there is any debate over who the king of 185 is. Bisping‘s tenuous line of thinking can easily be eviscerated by the following reasoning.

Bisping is 9-4 in his last 13 fights and has consistently lost when the competition has been in the upper echelon of the division. His four losses were against former 205 champ Rashad Evans, Pride champions Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva, and Chael Sonnen. He has never defeated a top-ranked opponent.

The biggest bout of Bisping‘s life was at UFC 100. In this great night of fights, Dan Henderson knocked out the brash Brit in epic fashion. Bisping, during TUF 9, had disrespected the athletes on Henderson’s team by insulting, antagonizing and even spraying water on them. Bisping, the Team UK coach, even went on to truculently boast about a guaranteed victory over Henderson. This strategy foolishly backfired, as the iconic Pride champ’s H-bomb proved why he is a legend.

While he lost close decisions to Evans, Silva and Sonnen that could have gone his way, he also had his share of fortunate outcomes. His split decision win against Matt Hamill could have easily gone against him. His win over 20-9 Jorge Rivera was very controversial as Bisping intentionally struck Rivera with an illegal knee to the head which could have easily won the match for the since retired Rivera via disqualification.

Rivera never recovered from the blow and the Brit scored a second round TKO win that deserved an asterisk. Even more disturbing is that, after he won with the advantage of an illegal blow, “The Count” spat on his competitor’s corner. Not only does he seem to lack sportsmanship when he wins, as he also did in his close split-decision win over the respectful Hamill, he vociferously pouts when a decision does not go his way like in the Sonnen, Silva and Evans losses.

The talk that Anderson Silva’s potential superfights will leave a vacuum that requires filling is a red herring. No fights have been signed, though they have been the subject of speculation for years. The champ recently fought and is looking to fight. These blockbuster fights are a good thing and should they occur, no one will be in doubt as to who the true champ of the middleweight division really is.

An interim title would be meaningless and superficial. In fact, it would detract from the great accomplishments by the Brazilian Spider and would be insulting to his success. Any temporary leave from the division will not jeopardize his throne. One should not suffer punitive measures for seeking out greater challenges and to suggest that another fighter in the division should be crowned champion is an insult.

There is no room to vacillate on this issue; there is no discussion required. The current champ, Anderson Silva, is as deserving as there has even been a champion. Respectfully, “The Spider” has convincingly cleaned out the division. There are no compelling challengers for him at 185 right now.

Perhaps a tournament testing the Lombard-Palhares winner with the Bisping-Belfort winner to eventually meet a decisive leader among Alan Belcher, Tim Boetsch and Chris Weidman could reveal a true No. 1 contender. Truly, these contenders have to prove themselves among themselves before they can sincerely demand a title shot. Bisping is talented, well-rounded and shows constant improvement, but he has not shown he is a legitimate challenge to usurp Anderson Silva’s reign.

The notion of any of these fighters being crowned a champion in the division transcends absurdity. Bisping is seeking an easy way to become champion while his athletic performances and his dissolute conduct have proven that he is not championship worthy. Lamentably, the lucrative incentive of potentially crowning a UK athlete as champion and marketing a title unification bout might influence the decision. But then again, the UFC would never impugn the credibility of their titles by awarding challenges to non-deserving fighters just to make a buck, right?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bisping: ‘Anderson Silva Is the Best, but He Needs to Defend His Belt’

Michael Bisping believes Anderson Silva is sleeping on the job.The candid middleweight contender is upset at Silva’s indecisiveness and lack of focus on the 185-pound division.During an appearance on MMAjunkie.com Radio, Bisping blamed Silva for having…

Michael Bisping believes Anderson Silva is sleeping on the job.

The candid middleweight contender is upset at Silva’s indecisiveness and lack of focus on the 185-pound division.

During an appearance on MMAjunkie.com Radio, Bisping blamed Silva for having too much fun and not taking his position as champion seriously:

I kind of feel like he’s maybe having a little bit of fun with it sometimes, but this isn’t a comedy program. This is the UFC, and this is fighting. It’s serious business. If you want to take a year out, take a year out. If you don’t want to take a year out, fight the No. 1 contender. Anderson is the best, but you’ve got to defend that title.

Earlier in November, Silva told Brazilian website Tatame.com he wouldn’t be fighting again until the end of 2013.

After defeating Chael Sonnen and Stephan Bonnar, he wanted to take time away from the sport to focus on some of his personal endeavors, which includes a new gym and a movie deal.

Silva is arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history, and it is understandable that his ever-growing star power will open up other avenues and require him to spend some time away from the sport.

The frustration for Bisping and other middleweight contenders stems from Silva seemingly lacking interest in the middleweight division.

Top middleweight contender Chris Weidman has been asking for a title shot for months, and Silva told him to “work and wait for his opportunity.” Yet, he had no problems accepting a fight against Bonnar, who has never even cracked the top 10 in his division.

It looks like Silva will only fight once in 2013, and the only opponent he’s adamant about facing is welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

Despite Silva’s success, the show must go on at middleweight, and it’s hard to do that with a champion who isn’t committed to defending his title.

Bisping continues in his interview with Helwani:

Perhaps, he vacates the belt, and when he’s ready to come back, he gets an immediate title shot and fights the new champion then. He’s put us all in this position. It just sucks for the fans that want to see Anderson fight. It sucks for the fighters that want to fight Anderson for his belt, and it sucks for the UFC, as well.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bisping’s Idea That Fight vs. Belfort Be for the Interim Title, Not so Crazy

If you have read or listened to an interview with UFC middleweight Michael Bisping over the past year or so, you have no doubt heard “The Count” running down the reasons why he thinks he deserves a shot at middleweight champion Anderson Sil…

If you have read or listened to an interview with UFC middleweight Michael Bisping over the past year or so, you have no doubt heard “The Count” running down the reasons why he thinks he deserves a shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Bisping is convinced that he and Chris Weidman are the No. 1 and No. 2 contenders for the middleweight crown. With Weidman now out of his scheduled December 29 scrap against Tim Boetsch due to a shoulder injury and UFC president Dana White pushing hard for a superfight between Silva and UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, Bisping has upped the ante a bit.

He has called for his January 19 fight against Vitor Belfort to be for the interim middleweight title.

And you know what? He may have a valid point.

Despite St-Pierre’s seeming disinterest and a fairly deep pool of top contenders in the UFC’s welterweight division, White seems obsessed with getting St-Pierre in the Octagon with Silva.

Hey, I don’t blame the guy for that; he’s got a business to run, and he’s pretty confident that he can sell out Dallas Stadium’s 100,000 seats for a card headlined by that bout. However, outside of the win that the fight would provide to the promotion’s bottom line, it would really screw things up for the welterweight and middleweight divisions.

Silva has not been the most active fighter in defending his crown over the last two years. He defended the title twice in 2011 and once in 2012, winning each of those fights in convincing displays.

If he faces St-Pierre in May, which is the month that White has thrown out there for the potential superfight, you can guarantee Silva will go more than one full calendar year between title defenses, with his last defense being his July 7, 2012 TKO of Chael Sonnen.

Not defending the title for one year or more, superfight or not, best fighter to ever step foot in the Octagon or not, is something that cheats the fans. Not to mention the fact that it puts an entire division of athletes, whose careers are not all that lengthy, on ice for a prolonged period. 

As for the welterweight division, throwing St-Pierre in a superfight against Silva would be even worse.

That division has been effectively sitting around waiting since Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz for the interim title in February of this year. Now that St-Pierre has become the undisputed champion with his unanimous decision victory over Condit on November 17, does the UFC really want to put that division on hold for another long stretch of time?

I believe Bisping’s suggestion that his fight against Belfort be elevated to an interim title fight has some credence and also lends itself to the thought that if the Silva versus St-Pierre fight were to happen that an(other) interim welterweight champion may need to be crowned.

I won’t deny the fact that a Silva versus St-Pierre fight is compelling, and I would definitely tune in, but for what it would do to the sport and the weight divisions that are ruled over by two of the best fighters we have ever seen, I would argue against making it happen. 

With that being said, if the powers that be are hell bent on making that fight happen, they do need to have an active champion in the middleweight division. Why not make it the winner of the Bisping versus Belfort fight? That title would need to come with one caveat; the winner must defend the title during 2012. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Michael Bisping Wants Anderson Silva to Vacate UFC Middleweight Championship

If Anderson Silva wants to chase superfights and go on break to film movies, Michael Bisping thinks the pound-for-pound kingpin should drop the UFC middleweight title.That’s just one possible option that the promotion’s most famous Englishman is puttin…

If Anderson Silva wants to chase superfights and go on break to film movies, Michael Bisping thinks the pound-for-pound kingpin should drop the UFC middleweight title.

That’s just one possible option that the promotion’s most famous Englishman is putting forth, telling MMA Junkie Radio that he really doesn’t want to waste a year of his prime waiting for Silva to defend his 185-pound championship:

Yes, of course, we like to fight, and it’s a business as well. But you want that progression and to fulfill your dream, and my dream is to be world champion one day. We all have a clock that’s ticking. I’ve still got a lot of time left, but I don’t want to waste a year fighting for the hell of it. I want to know that I’m moving toward something.

Bisping further stated that Silva’s lack of concern for timely title defenses seemed to indicate that the Brazilian superstar doesn’t take his championship reign that seriously.

Although “The Count” maintained his opinion that Silva was still the best fighter in the UFC, it didn’t mean much if “The Spider” spends a year away from his native division when challengers are lined up. In fact, Bisping recommended that Silva simply drop his UFC middleweight title outright:

Perhaps he vacates the belt, and when he’s ready to come back, he gets an immediate title shot and fights the new champion then.

He’s put us all in this position. It just sucks for the fans that want to see Anderson fight. It sucks for the fighters that want to fight Anderson for his belt, and it sucks for the UFC, as well.

Currently rumored plans for Silva include a May 2013 superfight against welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. UFC president Dana White has guaranteed that the bout will happen, although GSP’s camp has stressed that the match is unfair unless the 185-pound Silva fights at the 170-pound welterweight limit.

Bisping is preparing for a main event title eliminator match against former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7 this coming January, taking place at the Ibirapuera Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Bisping currently has notched a 5-1 run in his last six fights, marred by a close decision loss against former middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Michael Bisping or Chris Weidman: Who Deserves a Title Shot More?

Michael Bisping and Chris Weidman are elite middleweight fighters who have long hungered for a chance to fight the middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.There has been much speculation leading to who will receive the next title shot in the log jam of t…

Michael Bisping and Chris Weidman are elite middleweight fighters who have long hungered for a chance to fight the middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.

There has been much speculation leading to who will receive the next title shot in the log jam of the middleweight division. These two fighters have really stood out from the pack and are making legitimate claims that they should be the next person to fight for the middleweight title.

Weidman has been on a tear since his UFC debut with wins over the likes of Alesso Sakara, Tom Lawlor and a crazy knockout of Mark Munoz. The Serra/Longo product had rattled off five straight wins and has looked unstoppable so far.

Bisping has been equally impressive but has not gotten nearly the same recognition. He was on a four-fight win streak before losing a controversial decision to Chael Sonnen. I, for one, believe he won that fight, but that is an article for another time.

He then rebounded by winning a big fight against Brian Stann at UFC 152 in Toronto. Both men now have their next opponent’s set. Bisping will challenge Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7, and Weidman will face off against Tim Boetsch at UFC 155.

Both of these fighters have made a lot of noise in the middleweight division as of late. I believe that Bisping deserves the title shot more based on his experience and wins beforehand. He has won more big fights but has not gotten the same recognition.

Weidman on the other hand hasn’t been around the UFC as long and hasn’t fought and beaten some of the names Bisping has, but he has elite level skill and has impressed the UFC brass and the fans.

In short, I believe that Bisping deserves the title shot, but Weidman will get it.

Tweet me @FuscoNation16.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC: Would an Interim Middleweight Title Make Sense in Anderson Silva’s Absence?

With Anderson Silva recently revealing that he plans to take a year off from MMA, it looks like we get yet another opportunity to discuss the merits of the much-maligned concept of interim titles. Almost as soon as the middleweight champion had finishe…

With Anderson Silva recently revealing that he plans to take a year off from MMA, it looks like we get yet another opportunity to discuss the merits of the much-maligned concept of interim titles.

Almost as soon as the middleweight champion had finished stating his intention to take a lengthy vacation, perennial bridesmaid Michael Bisping took to Twitter to request that his upcoming bout with Vitor Belfort be for the interim title.

Anderson Silva’s response to this idea was consistent with the fans’ own misgivings.

If the UFC wants to make an interim bout while I’m gone, it’s up to them. I don’t know if it will have any meaning but they can do whatever they want.

It’s a fair comment from the champion. Holding the interim title, particularly in that division, would mean absolutely nothing. It’s little more than a physical reminder to the individual that they are the best of the rest.

Making it all the more pointless is the UFC’s apparent indifference towards fighters defending said titles. While the UFC may do many things better than boxing, this sure ain’t one of them.

In boxing, interim titles have a clear purpose. Their owners are all but forced to defend the belt while the legitimate champion is unavailable. They do not get the option of waiting until the linear champion is ready to compete.

The UFC, in contrast, has for all intents and purposes created a No. 1 contender belt. They might as well rename it the Intercontinental title or some such nonsense.

Interim champions Carlos Condit and Renan Barao have chosen to wait for their divisions’ linear champion to return to action, utterly defeating the purpose of their current status. As a result, the respective divisions are in an extreme state of constipation.

Contenders continue to announce themselves, yet they are forced to wait in the increasingly mammoth queue while still remaining active. It’s not just frustrating from a fan’s perspective, but it is also completely nonsensical from a business point of view.

One wonders why the UFC hasn’t stipulated that interim champions must defend their titles. After all, the aforementioned fighters have had ample time to face another opponent while they wait for a shot at the linear belt.

I don’t think I’m being overly cynical by suggesting that the UFC were simply trying to squeeze out a few extra pay-per-view buys by throwing a meaningless title into the mix at UFC 143 and UFC 149.

Fans are seemingly drawn to the stakes implied by a belt being on the line, regardless of whether the stakes are purely superficial.

Will things be any different if Bisping or Belfort is crowned interim middleweight champion? With the UFC’s recent track record, I’m tempted to suggest that we will be faced with precisely the same problem as before.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com