mma / Columns

Michael Bisping: The Culmination of a Decade of Disappointment

May 24, 2016 | Posted by Evan Zivin

While I have plenty of reasons to be pissed off right now, especially because I had to endure another week where the publishing of my column got delayed because Plunkett decided to take a day off, completely ruining my amazing “Jacare” Souza joke (at this rate, my grandchildren will be wondering when he’s going to get to fight for the belt), I can’t be too upset because another immediate UFC title match that was completely undeserved has fallen apart.

I mean no disrespect to Chris Weidman, but we all know that the only reason he was given an immediate rematch was because UFC thought that was the most bankable fight they could make for the belt at that point in time. Yeah, Weidman has had his struggles with becoming a top draw, but he is still one of the best fighters in the sport. He’s the man who defeated Anderson Silva when he was still considered to be invincible.

When Silva, the long-reining dominant champion, was still a mythically moving, untouchable beast, Chris was the one who went up to him and said “TOUCH!”

That’s what almost makes it appropriate that, if Weidman is unable to take the fight at UFC 199 against UFC Middleweight Champion, and reality TV star, Luke Rockhold, then the man to replace him in the main event should be the second man to defeat Anderson inside the Octagon: Michael “The Count” Bisping.

That’s right. It’s time for Bisping to choke again. And this time, it will happen on the grandest stage he’s ever competed on, under the brightest lights his pasty, British skin has ever been warmed with.

Now, in my quest to support and promote 411, despite the fact that they do things like push back my columns and not give me advance notice so I can update my topical humor, there was a statistic that my colleague Jeffrey Harris pulled out in his Bisping support column from last Thursday, the day that his column normally posts…

…seriously, boss, a courtesy email would go a long way…

…that noted Bisping, by competing in the main event on June 4, will be fighting for the title, the one thing he’s worked for years to get to, just 20 days shy of his 10 year anniversary of being in the UFC. Now, when I first read that, my immediate thought was, “Wow! What a coincidence! Luke Rockhold will be just 2,539 days shy of his 10 year UFC anniversary! What a special night!”

You see, I had that thought because I’m an ass, but it also made me think about what the last 10 years have meant for Bisping and what June 4 will mean for his career and legacy.

I’m sure Bisping thinks the fight means the culmination of everything he has worked for, the ultimate payoff for everything he has left inside the cage and for all the years of loyal service he has provided to his employers/overlords.

But what it all really means is this: what a disappointing career the man has had.

Now, in this instance, “disappointing” does not mean the same thing as “bad.” Michael Bisping has had a great career in the UFC. He has spent 10 continuous years with the company, where he currently sits either at the top or near the top of all the company’s longevity records.

This fight against Rockhold will be Bisping’s 26th UFC fight. The fact that he’s had that many UFC fights is insane enough but to think that he’s competed in all those fights, for so many years, across multiple generations of fighters, and he’s still considered one of the best in the world. He’s never been considered the best, but to be 37 years old and still be in the contendership conversation is just incredible.

And how exciting will it be to see this 37 year old, in an era where other men his age have been able to climb the mountain and capture UFC gold (and then get violently knocked out by dudes from Cleveland…), finally capture the one accolade that has eluded him for so long.

He’s the most accomplished fighter to never compete for a championship. How exciting will it be to see Mike fulfill his long-awaited destiny and, if only for a fleeting moment, see him sit atop the mountain he’s desperately tried to climb for ages?

Of course, we all know the reality of the situation: Bisping is going to get wrecked. Rockhold beat him once already and I see no reason to think the rematch will go any different. The only reasons Rockhold loses is if he either completely sleeps on his preparation for the fight or comes into it completely beaten and worn down from training. I mean, he does train at AKA, also known as The Boulevard of Broken Bones and/or Dreams.

The Brit has had many triumphs in this sport but he’s also had many disappointments, disappointments of the career-defining variety. The loss to Rashad Evans that shut him out of the light heavyweight division, the epically brutal knockout loss to Dan Henderson, the controversial decisions against Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen, getting his literal block knocked off by Vitor Belfort, the absolute frustration against Tim Kennedy…

It’s the running theme that makes up the UFC career of Michael Bisping. Even when he succeeds (his dominant thrashing of Cung Le), there’s usually another embarrassment to follow (the first time Rockhold plowed through him). Even after all these years, one of his biggest highlights is winning The Ultimate Fighter against a man with blue hair who competed on a celebrity bull riding show after flunking out of the UFC.

Granted, he does possess the win over Anderson Silva, a win that should still be enough to earn any man a UFC title shot, but the fight wasn’t all that dominant for either man and it was a win against the greatest fighter in the world 3 years after that title taken had been taken away from him.

It was a win against a man who was coming off two one year layoffs, one due to breaking his leg, and one due to the funniest attempt to explain away steroid use in company history.

It’s a win that is impressive without the context but not so much otherwise.

It almost seems appropriate that, after a decade of one pratfall after another, that Bisping finally gets what he wants but he’s getting it under the worst of conditions, fighting for the belt on less than 3 weeks notice against the best fighter in the weight class who’s already beaten him once and is coming in with a full training camp.

It’s almost like Mike’s being intentionally set up to fail here, like he’s not even being given the chance to fail on his own anymore because we all know it’s a foregone conclusion anyway.

Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Bisping has improved. Maybe he’s not the same fighter he was 2 years ago. Maybe he does have what it takes to be the best. Maybe he’s finally found a way to bypass the mental blocks that always prevent him from winning when it matters most. Maybe he’s finally ready to make the most of the opportunity that is staring him in the face and be the fighter that he’s spent the 10 best years of his career trying to convince us he really is.

Maybe that’s true, but I doubt it, and I certainly wouldn’t “Count” on it.

Yay for the most obvious pun in the world! I’m Carlos Mencia levels of creative over here!

Good luck on June 4, Mike. And good luck getting another title shot after you lose this one. You may need to travel to find that Fountain of Youth that Randy Couture was using if you ever hope to make it to this stage again.

Evan Zivin has been writing for 411 MMA since May of 2013. Evan loves the sport, and likes to takes a lighthearted look at the world of MMA in his writing…usually.

article topics :

Michael Bisping, UFC 199, Evan Zivin