The UFC will visit Australia again for the first time is since the memorable card at Brisbane’s Entertainment Centre last year. The event will take place at the All Phones Arena in Sydney.
The card will be headlined by Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping ranked number 10 in the Miiddleweight division and former Middleweight Strikeforce Champion Luke Rockhold, who is ranked number 5.
Stylistically this is an excellent match up for the fans. Bisping is an excellent outside fighter that overpowers other fighters with his work rate. He has excellent takedown defence and will pose an interesting puzzle for Rockhold to solve.
Luke Rockhold is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace, wrestler and formidable striker. The former Strikeforce champion is an outstanding all-round athlete has a range of submission and striking finishes that make him dangerous wherever the fight goes.
What makes this fight a must see is both that this is a rare event in which the fight makes sense for the two fighters, they are both coming off wins, are both possible title contenders and they genuinely dislike each other. This is a fight that MMA media and fans have been screaming for since Bisping returned from his eye injury that had him sidelined for 12 months.
The Rockhold Bisping feud has been going on for two years since Rockhold was still holding the Strikeforce belt. Bisping proclaimed himself the ‘unofficial middleweight Strikeforce champion‘. The feud has been running on twitter and through the MMA media ever since the most recent being in a confrontation after Bisping’s win in Macau last month.
Bisping has made three failed runs at the Middleweight title, all three times hitting speed humps Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort. All three of these fighters that beat Bisping were under therapeutic exemption to use Testosterone Replacement Therapy and this has since been outlawed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Bisping is one of the longest serving veterans on the UFC roster. His durability and trash talking ability would have him an asset to any Test cricket team. His wife is Australian, so as among parochial fight fans he will more than likely get the edge of hometown support.
A win over Rockhold will certainly put him back on a charge at the Middleweight belt and possibly a long-awaited showdown with Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva – who will return to the ring next February.
Rockhold will be out to prove emphatically that his striking game is world class and a knockout of ‘The Count’ would certainly put him into top title contention.
Local heroes Robert Whiticker, Soa Palelei and Anthony Perosh look to have their dance cards booked and will be appearing at UFC promotional Presser being hosted by Head of UFC Operations Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Tom Wright this Thursday
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