Michael Bisping has accomplished much in his mixed martial arts career, but one thing has always eluded him: A UFC title fight. Bisping, the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3, has made it up the UFC middleweight ladder numerous times in his career, but this weekend at UFC Fight Night 55 will undoubtedly be his last chance to claim a long-awaited title shot.
Now 35 years of age, Bisping doesn’t have much time left. His fight clock is ticking. There’s no doubt the UFC has wanted him to get a title shot many times in the past, and his 15-6 record indicates he’s been deserving on past occasions, but for whatever reason, Bisping has always fallen short in the big one.
At UFC 100, Bisping, who had worked his way to the top of the ladder, took on Dan Henderson in a title eliminator, with the winner expected to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Unfortunately for Bisping, though, he was brutally knocked out by Henderson and had to rebuild his career.
At UFC on FOX 2, with Bisping coming off of four consecutive wins, he took on Chael Sonnen in a middleweight title eliminator. He fought Sonnen tooth and nail for 15 minutes, and although some thought he won the fight, the judges sided with Sonnen, and Bisping had to work his way back up the ladder.
A win over Brian Stann at UFC 152 got Bisping back into a title eliminator, but he was brutally knocked out by Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7, and once again failed to get the title shot he so desperately was looking for.
Bisping defeated Alan Belcher by decision in his next fight, and he was due to fight Mark Munoz in a title eliminator at UFC Fight Night 30. However, Bisping injured his eye and was removed from the bout. Lyoto Machida took the fight with Munoz, knocking him out and getting a title shot against Chris Weidman soon afterwards.
After taking time off to heal from his eye injury, Bisping returned to the cage at the TUF Nations Finale earlier this year, but ring rust showed in the fight and he was grounded out by Tim Kennedy over the course of five rounds. Had Bisping defeated Kennedy, he would have been in line for a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship. But alas, he lost the fight in one-sided fashion.
For most fighters, losing in such one-sided fashion like Bisping did to Kennedy would put them far back in their respective divisions. But Bisping isn’t just any fighter. He’s one of the most popular fighters on the entire roster, the most popular fighter by far in Britain (and arguably in Europe), and is easily marketable due to his brash mouth and in-cage skills. Sure, he has been inconsistent in title eliminators, but it doesn’t matter – if anything, his past losses in title eliminators will help him out now, because it’s an easy story for the UFC to sell.
Fortunately for Bisping, a win over Cung Le at UFC Fight Night 48 by TKO in his next fight put him back in the spotlight, and when it came to light that Le tested positive for PEDs (a claim the UFC later took back), tons of fans jumped on his bandwagon. Although Bisping lost to Kennedy only six months ago, Kennedy’s loss to Yoel Romero and Bisping’s win over Le meant that the loss Bisping incurred there didn’t really even matter anymore, and the UFC decided to give him a huge fight against Luke Rockhold in the main event of UFC Fight Night 55.
Rockhold is ranked higher than Bisping, and is a huge betting favorite heading into the fight because it’s a great matchup for him stylistically, but if Bisping can somehow win this fight, it puts him in a great position to fight for the UFC middleweight title. Right now, Weidman is due to face Belfort at UFC 184, but if Belfort fails another drug test, the UFC will need a replacement, and the winner of Rockhold vs. Bisping is right there. There are a few other contenders, like Romero and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who will be considered for the next title shot, but Bisping is the biggest name of the bunch, and it’d be hard to deny him a title shot if he beats Rockhold, one of the most best fighters in the division.
I didn’t like Bisping when he first came on to the UFC scene in 2005, but he’s really grown on me over the years, and if he can do the unthinkable and beat Rockhold, I am hands down in favor of him getting a title shot at 185 lbs. In fact, I’d be upset if he wasn’t next in line.
• Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping
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UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs. Bisping is due to take place on November 8, 2014 at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. (Due to the time differences, the event will air on November 7, 2014 in the United States.)
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