Before Aljamain Sterling defeated Takeya Mizugaki in New Jersey last weekend, the UFC bantamweight division was extremely quiet. There were no notable fights in the division after T.J. Dillashaw upset Renan Barao for the belt at UFC 173. In fact, the only notable activity in the division has been who was injured and has to […]
Before Aljamain Sterling defeated Takeya Mizugaki in New Jersey last weekend, the UFC bantamweight division was extremely quiet. There were no notable fights in the division after T.J. Dillashaw upset Renan Barao for the belt at UFC 173. In fact, the only notable activity in the division has been who was injured and has to […]
For Michael Bisping, every match is a grudge match. The TUF 3 winner never met a fellow fighter he couldn’t take the piss out of in his 21-fight (!) UFC career, and to be totally honest, I’m kind of starting to love the dude for it.
Truly the silver-tongued, tea-sipping Diaz brother is his highness Count Bisping, who has found himself in yet another war of words with former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold heading into their Fight Night 55 headliner on November 7th. Ben Fowlkes attempted to get to the bottom of Bisping’s seemingly endless dickishness in an interview published on MMAJunkie yesterday, and according to the Brit, pre-fight trash simply serves as his way of keeping the constant eat-train-sleep schedule from growing stale. According to Rockhold, however, Bisping is just “a prick that most people don’t like.” A regular Felix Unger and Oscar Madison these two are, I tells ya!
But as heated as Bisping vs. Rockhold has been thus far (see their “Counterpunch” segment above, their rooftop staredown, etc.), it doesn’t hold a candle to Bisping’s verbal sparring matches with Hollywood Henderson and that Bully Beatdown host guy whose life he destroyed. So it is through rage-filled, bloodshot eyes that we take a look back at Bisping’s most heated rivalries and rank them on a scale of Berk to Arselicking Plonker.
#9 — Charles McCarthy
So the saying goes, “Opinions are like assholes, and Michael Bisping is one opinionated asshole.” He’s also a guy who was never shy on confidence, which Charles “Chainsaw” McCarthy took issue with heading into their fight back at UFC 83. Oddly enough, it was actually McCarthy who attacked Bisping first through the media, telling CBS Sports:
(He’s) real arrogant, and, you know — not much else, really. He’s gonna get choked out April 19.
I have very little regard for that guy. I can’t wait to go in there and get my arm around his neck. It’s going to be a cool experience. I hope to put him to sleep before he decides to tap.
Bisping was quick to respond via his blog, The Countdown, with the following shot at McCarthy’s self-hyped BJJ credentials:
Next week’s Countdown will be filed after I’ve come face-to-face with the reigning BJJ uber-master of the galaxy. If anyone wants me to ask him for an autograph for you, please e-mail me, but keep your requests down to six per person.
When it came time to put words aside, Bisping was simply too much for his fellow TUF alum, overwhelming McCarthy with a barrage of knees (that in fact broke McCarthy’s arm) and forcing a stoppage inside of the first round. It was Bisping’s first true grudge match in the UFC, and one that would set the precedent for years to come.
For Michael Bisping, every match is a grudge match. The TUF 3 winner never met a fellow fighter he couldn’t take the piss out of in his 21-fight (!) UFC career, and to be totally honest, I’m kind of starting to love the dude for it.
Truly the silver-tongued, tea-sipping Diaz brother is his highness Count Bisping, who has found himself in yet another war of words with former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold heading into their Fight Night 55 headliner on November 7th. Ben Fowlkes attempted to get to the bottom of Bisping’s seemingly endless dickishness in an interview published on MMAJunkie yesterday, and according to the Brit, pre-fight trash simply serves as his way of keeping the constant eat-train-sleep schedule from growing stale. According to Rockhold, however, Bisping is just “a prick that most people don’t like.” A regular Felix Unger and Oscar Madison these two are, I tells ya!
But as heated as Bisping vs. Rockhold has been thus far (see their “Counterpunch” segment above, their rooftop staredown, etc.), it doesn’t hold a candle to Bisping’s verbal sparring matches with Hollywood Henderson and that Bully Beatdown host guy whose life he destroyed. So it is through rage-filled, bloodshot eyes that we take a look back at Bisping’s most heated rivalries and rank them on a scale of Berk to Arselicking Plonker.
#9 — Charles McCarthy
So the saying goes, “Opinions are like assholes, and Michael Bisping is one opinionated asshole.” He’s also a guy who was never shy on confidence, which Charles “Chainsaw” McCarthy took issue with heading into their fight back at UFC 83. Oddly enough, it was actually McCarthy who attacked Bisping first through the media, telling CBS Sports:
(He’s) real arrogant, and, you know — not much else, really. He’s gonna get choked out April 19.
I have very little regard for that guy. I can’t wait to go in there and get my arm around his neck. It’s going to be a cool experience. I hope to put him to sleep before he decides to tap.
Bisping was quick to respond via his blog, The Countdown, with the following shot at McCarthy’s self-hyped BJJ credentials:
Next week’s Countdown will be filed after I’ve come face-to-face with the reigning BJJ uber-master of the galaxy. If anyone wants me to ask him for an autograph for you, please e-mail me, but keep your requests down to six per person.
When it came time to put words aside, Bisping was simply too much for his fellow TUF alum, overwhelming McCarthy with a barrage of knees (that in fact broke McCarthy’s arm) and forcing a stoppage inside of the first round. It was Bisping’s first true grudge match in the UFC, and one that would set the precedent for years to come.
Bisping’s war of words with PRIDE legend Wanderlei Silva prior to UFC 110, if the Interwebs are to be believed, doesn’t seem like one that “The Count” actually started, hence its ranking on this list. By this point in his career, Bisping had already firmly established himself as one of the best trash-talkers in the business, whereas Silva was already being labeled by some people not named Michael Bisping as “a fading legend with a weird new face who is growing increasingly desperate for a win.” Still, Wanderlei struck first, stating how much he “didn’t like” Bisping (classic diss!) in several interviews during the lead-up, prompting Bisping to pretty much declare the same (albeit in slightly more comprehensible “English”). Words were shared between the two at the UFC 110 pre-fight press conference (see above), and a week later it was on, son.
The fight itself was a pretty back-and-forth affair, but thanks to a late knockdown at the end of the third and the most brutal guillotine attempt you will ever see in your life, “The Axe Murderer” had the last laugh, emerging victorious by unanimous decision.
Cung Le never had a bad word to say about nobody, and by all accounts appears to be an incredibly well-spoken, humble guy. Of course, this can only mean one thing (if you’re Michael Bisping): He’s a phony. A big, fat phony.
And because Le was/is such an obvious phony, Bisping felt obliged to tell every two-bit reporter in shouting distance how much of a phony Le was in the weeks before their Fight Night 48 scrap. Like during this fan Q&A, for instance:
I went to Macao for the launch press conference with Cung Le in June, and I was very polite, very professional. I exchanged all the pleasantries, gave him all the small talk as you are supposed to in these situations, and I even went as far as pretending to be absolutely blown away that he’s apparently friends with Channing Tatum. … Then I see him on UFC.com doing a Fight Club Q&A and he’s talking a load of bulls–t about me. Basically, he’s jumped on the same old, boring bandwagon everyone else who fights me does, which is to say what a smack-talker I am while, as always, they are the ones who talk crap first. What a phony. If he had a problem with me then he could have spared me all the boring anecdotes about Channing Tatum.
You see, in Michael Bisping’s mind, calling someone a phony who talks trash behind your back while simultaneously talking trash behind *their* back is in no way hypocritical. It makes total sense, actually, and somehow makes you appear as the victim in a situation that you are totally fueling. Have I mentioned how much I love this guy?
Anyways, the fight was nothing short of spectacular, and arguably Bisping’s best performance in the octagon to date. Both fighters trading heavy shots for four rounds and wobbled each other on multiple occasions, but it was Bisping’s renowned cardio and crisp boxing that ultimately sealed him the victory via TKO. Cung Le’s face has never recovered.
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about each of Michael Bisping’s rivalries (the most consistent, anyway) is how quickly they seem to spark from the smallest catalyst. Bisping’s ability to create something from nothing is second to none — like watching a small snowball roll down a mountainside, accumulating mass and gathering speed by the second, until it takes out a bus full of blind orphans who just happened to be taking that route for their yearly field trip. What Kseniya Simonova is to sand painting, Michael Bisping is to schoolyard displays of masculinity, and I say that not as a criticism, but as a compliment of his ability to sell a grudge match where none seemingly exists.
Take the genesis of his beef with Vitor Belfort, for instance. According to Bisping, the whole thing started when he heard through the grapevine that Belfort had called him “a hooligan.” Seems innocent enough, right? That word may have a bit more context behind it when applied to British folk, but being called a hooligan is way lighter than, say, being called an potato-faced little sh*teater with dicks for fingers, right?
Wrong. Bisping lashed out a Belfort almost immediately, telling him to stick the apologetic text messages he had been sent “up his ass” (Belfort’s ass, that is) and calling the Brazilian a “cheater” for hitting so many people in the back of the head over the years. Again, I should clarify that illegally kneeing an opponent while he’s down and spitting on his cornermen is one thing, but hitting people in the back of the head is entirely something else. To Michael Bisping.
In any case, pissing off “TRTor” turned out to be a huge mistake for The Count, and after a couple of intense staredowns, Belfort proceeded to channel his inner Major Payne and put his foot right upside Bisping’s head at UFC on FX 7. Surely this lesson in humility would mark the very last time Bisping engaged in pre-fight trash-talk…
JK, you guys! Bisping’s very next fight against Alan Belcher would be a particularly heated affair, rife with some of The Count’s most scathing insults to date. Hyeah!!!
Although Bisping originally dismissed Belcher’s callouts as yet another case of some a-hole trying to become famous off his good name, he simply couldn’t help himself after the two were paired together in the co-main event of UFC 159. Bisping first took to his blog to drop some sick burns about how Belcher had stunk up the joint against Yushin Okami at UFC 155 (a sentiment that Belcher would probably agree with) and how he had probably detached his retina due to watching too much Internet porn. He then dubbed Belcher “some retard from Mississippi” and threatened to “smack the stupid look” off his face during their pre-fight presser. While I don’t personally think that smacking a retard would be a great move from a publicity standpoint, such is Count Bisping.
While Belcher didn’t deliver much in terms of witty repartee, he did promise to knock Bisping out, which was something that fans has been praying to see ever since that time Bisping was knocked out in the fight before this one. But unfortunately, neither Bisping nor Belcher delivered on the hype, and the fight equated to little more than an above-average sparring session. Until Bisping rendered Belcher unable to continue due with a particularly vicious eye poke in the third round, that is, and secured a technical decision victory.
Accidental or otherwise, the eye poke earned Bisping even more heat than usual from irate fans, who could only take solace when the MMA Gods evened the scales a few months later.
I have a couple theories on how superstardom is created in combat sports:
1) Every great fighter needs a great rival to stand in opposition to — an equally skilled counterpart who can push him competitively and generate personal animosity.
Both of these theories can help explain why Chuck Liddell was — and continues to be — a cultural phenomenon, and arguably the most famous MMA fighter of all time. They also help explain why some of today’s UFC champions struggle to find the same kind of relevance.
Ten years ago today, Chuck Liddell cemented his stardom by knocking out Tito Ortiz at UFC 47: It’s On!, which took place April 2nd, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Even though it was a non-title fight, Liddell vs. Ortiz 1 was the most compelling, highly-anticipated bout in UFC history to that point — a once-in-a-blue-moon meeting of two rivals who were both incredibly talented, and opposites in every measurable way. It had a storyline as dramatic and exaggerated as any pro-wrestling feud, and yet, somehow, it was real.
Chuck Liddell was the hero, of course. Humble and laconic, Chuck talked with his fists. The only time he showed emotion was after he knocked a guy out, after which he would gallop around the cage, then lean back with his fists at his sides, screaming at the air, the usual deadness in his eyes replaced by unrestrained insanity. He had a cool nickname and a cooler mohawk. He was a white guy, and yes, that does matter. His name was “Chuck,” for God’s sake.
I have a couple theories on how superstardom is created in combat sports:
1) Every great fighter needs a great rival to stand in opposition to — an equally skilled counterpart who can push him competitively and generate personal animosity.
Both of these theories can help explain why Chuck Liddell was — and continues to be — a cultural phenomenon, and arguably the most famous MMA fighter of all time. They also help explain why some of today’s UFC champions struggle to find the same kind of relevance.
Ten years ago today, Chuck Liddell cemented his stardom by knocking out Tito Ortiz at UFC 47: It’s On!, which took place April 2nd, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Even though it was a non-title fight, Liddell vs. Ortiz 1 was the most compelling, highly-anticipated bout in UFC history to that point — a once-in-a-blue-moon meeting of two rivals who were both incredibly talented, and opposites in every measurable way. It had a storyline as dramatic and exaggerated as any pro-wrestling feud, and yet, somehow, it was real.
Chuck Liddell was the hero, of course. Humble and laconic, Chuck talked with his fists. The only time he showed emotion was after he knocked a guy out, after which he would gallop around the cage, then lean back with his fists at his sides, screaming at the air, the usual deadness in his eyes replaced by unrestrained insanity. He had a cool nickname and a cooler mohawk. He was a white guy, and yes, that does matter. His name was “Chuck,” for God’s sake.
Naturally, Tito Ortiz was the villain. Tito loved to talk, even though he was never really that good at it. But he also understood that mental warfare was just as important as the battle that happened inside the cage. He was a ground-and-pound artist — not a standup fighter — who enjoyed discussing what he was going to do to you, how he was going to hurt you. His hair was closely cropped and dyed blonde. He was born Jacob Christopher Ortiz, but performed under the name “Tito” in an apparent attempt to gain Hispanic fans and piss off everybody else. It worked.
The fact that Ortiz never fought Liddell during Ortiz’s light-heavyweight title run — which Randy Couture had recently ended at UFC 44 — led many UFC fans to suggest that Ortiz was “ducking” Liddell. (Ortiz had his own explanations for why the matchup was delayed.) At any rate, that bit of backstory only helped the narrative: Ortiz was a coward at heart, and Liddell was finally going to prove it.
At the time, Liddell was coming off a disappointing run in the PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix, where he was TKO’d by Quinton Jackson in the semi-finals. Essentially, it was a publicity stunt that backfired. Instead of proving the superiority of UFC fighters over PRIDE fighters, Liddell couldn’t even beat the guy who came in second place to Wanderlei Silva. So in addition to his rivalry with Ortiz, there was a personal redemption angle in place at UFC 47 as well. And so, Liddell vs. Ortiz had every single element required to be a legendary fight. Here’s how it played out…
Ortiz looked tense from the beginning. He tried to box with Liddell, and ate counter punches for his efforts. Chuck’s power was making Tito nervous. Ortiz made two ineffectual takedown attempts in round one, both of which were easily defended by the Iceman, the best sprawl-and-brawler in the sport. As the round ended, Chuck landed a barrage of punches and a head kick, and all Ortiz could do in response was shove Big John McCarthy like the heel he was, and shout at Chuck that he wasn’t hurt.
Ortiz opened up round two with a sharp leg kick. It was the last significant strike he’d land. The two fighters clashed in a striking exchange shortly after, and Tito came away rubbing his right eye like he’d been poked. But McCarthy didn’t see it, and Liddell didn’t care. What follows is one of the most brutal finishing sequences in UFC history — a homicidal assault of punches from Liddell that made Ortiz crumple, as anybody would. It was over.
That night kicked off the most successful period of Liddell’s UFC career. It was the first in a string of seven consecutive KO/TKO victories from 2004-2006, which included a title fight win over Randy Couture the following year at UFC 52, a redemptive TKO of Jeremy Horn — the man who was responsible for Liddell’s first loss, back in March 1999 — then another KO of Couture, a second TKO of Renato Sobral just for fun, and another knockout of Ortiz at UFC 66 in December 2006.
I’ll close with this fun fact: Liddell vs. Ortiz 1 was just the second UFC PPV to earn 100,000 buys. Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 was the first UFC PPV to break one million buys. In other words, their second fight was literally ten times more successful than the first. It redefined the metrics of success in mixed martial arts, and you can thank Chuck Liddell for that. But if you do, don’t forget to thank Tito Ortiz as well, because without a bad guy, it’s just not a very good story, is it?
Full UFC 47 results are below…
MAIN CARD
Chuck Liddell def. Tito Ortiz via KO, 0:38 of round 22
Chris Lytle def. Tiki Ghosn via submission (bulldog choke), 1:55 of round 2
Yves Edwards def. Hermes Franca via split decision
Andrei Arlovski def. Wesley Correira via TKO, 1:15 of round 2 Nick Diaz def. Robbie Lawler via KO, 2:31 of round 2
Mike Kyle def. Wes Sims via KO, 4:59 of round 1
PRELIMINARY CARD
Jonathan Wiezorek def. Wade Shipp via TKO, 4:39 of round 1
Genki Sudo def. Mike Brown via submission (armbar), 3:31 of round 1
(“Let me tell you something, mudda fucka, you’re lucky I feel entitled to my fair share of Fight Pass ad revenue or I’d smash your face right now!”)
In the lead-up to the third season of TUF Brazil, there were several audacious claims being made that Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva is “the greatest rivalry in the history of mixed martial arts.” A rivalry isn’t truly great until it involves a Twitter war, a reality show, and a (possibly staged) on-set brawl on said reality show, is essentially what we’re being told. (Author’s note: In which case, allow me to cast my vote for TUF Japan: Sakuraba vs. Gracie.)
Being that Sonnen vs. Silva ranks second only to King Kong vs. Godzilla on the list of mythologized rivalries, you’d think that both sides would have signed the bout agreement for their May 31st showdown by now. If anything, you’d think that Sonnen would be the one hesitant to agree to anything in the wake of the TRT ban.
In either case, you’d be wrong, dummy. According to Dana White, it’s actually Wandy who has yet to sign on the dotted line (via MMAFighting):
“Yeah,” White affirmed when asked on Thursday if the fight still has yet to be signed. “There’s a lot more to that story than (I can say).
“He’s not balking,” White said of Silva. “Not even a little bit. It’s not over money either. I can’t tell you. It has to do with the show (TUF Brazil 3). It has to do with the show, that’s all I can tell you.”
(“Let me tell you something, mudda fucka, you’re lucky I feel entitled to my fair share of Fight Pass ad revenue or I’d smash your face right now!”)
In the lead-up to the third season of TUF Brazil, there were several audacious claims being made that Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva is “the greatest rivalry in the history of mixed martial arts.” A rivalry isn’t truly great until it involves a Twitter war, a reality show, and a (possibly staged) on-set brawl on said reality show, is essentially what we’re being told. (Author’s note: In which case, allow me to cast my vote for TUF Japan: Sakuraba vs. Gracie.)
Being that Sonnen vs. Silva ranks second only to King Kong vs. Godzilla on the list of mythologized rivalries, you’d think that both sides would have signed the bout agreement for their May 31st showdown by now. If anything, you’d think that Sonnen would be the one hesitant to agree to anything in the wake of the TRT ban.
In either case, you’d be wrong, dummy. According to Dana White, it’s actually Wandy who has yet to sign on the dotted line (via MMAFighting):
“Yeah,” White affirmed when asked on Thursday if the fight still has yet to be signed. “There’s a lot more to that story than (I can say).
“He’s not balking,” White said of Silva. “Not even a little bit. It’s not over money either. I can’t tell you. It has to do with the show (TUF Brazil 3). It has to do with the show, that’s all I can tell you.”
“This is a frustrating job. S–t happens to me every day. … It’ll get done. We’ll get it done.”
Or, and I’m just speculating here, it could have something to do with the fact that the coach on Team Silva who sucker-punched Sonnen was thrown off the show, told that he “ought to be arrested,” and likely barred from attending all future UFC events. It’s a cockamamie theory compared to the “all hail Chael” one, I know, but let’s not be close-minded here, Nation.
No matter how even a fight looks on paper, sometimes theory falls short of fact. Perhaps one of the hardest jobs in combative sports is that of matchmaker, who wants to maximize the potential of action toward an honest end every single time. Much of this is based on the styles of the fighters and […]
No matter how even a fight looks on paper, sometimes theory falls short of fact. Perhaps one of the hardest jobs in combative sports is that of matchmaker, who wants to maximize the potential of action toward an honest end every single time. Much of this is based on the styles of the fighters and […]
We all love a good rivalry. It’s nice to see two dudes who respect each other enter the cage to see who’s better, but when they talk trash for a month and shove each other at the weigh-in, it always adds a little something extra. Look at Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. The two were […]
We all love a good rivalry. It’s nice to see two dudes who respect each other enter the cage to see who’s better, but when they talk trash for a month and shove each other at the weigh-in, it always adds a little something extra. Look at Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. The two were […]
