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As a longtime fan of combat sports I have since become cynical when a promoter starts talking about a feud between two fighters.
In this era of athletic professionalism boxers and mixed martial artists come across as slightly inarticulate pro wrestlers when they aim insults at their opponent. Often it serves only to alienate the sports fans and at best allows the brash fighter to play the “heel” role.
The king of hype was the greatest himself, Muhummad Ali. Ali could belittle an opponent with wit and eloquence as ruthlessly as he could batter them with his fists and his charisma allowed it only to polish his aura. Few can remain brash and loved.
Michael Bisping, ranked number eight, has been in Mixed Martial Arts for over 10 years and really started to make waves when he won the Ultimate Fighter Season 3. Fighting talent aside, it was the Brit’s all too honest forked tongue that gained him instant celebrity status amongst a community of martial artists and wrestlers steeped in cultures of respect for their opponents.
Although named ‘The Count’ for his regal ancestry, his ability to suck the morale out of his opponent could only be described as vampiric. As ‘the guy you loved to hate’ he has few equals and pulls no punches in and out of the cage.
It must be said that most of Bisping’s dry wit is done with doses of sarcasm and deadpan that often gets lost on his American foes. The most recent target for his belittling has been former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold.
Rockhold is almost the yang to Bisping’s ying. He has movie star good looks and was bought up in sunny California. He was a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champion that wrestled at high school and comes from a well to do family. Rockhold, ranked number five, has been something of a savant in Mixed Martial Arts, and has six wins by submission and 3 by TKO. His finishes often radiate a level of confidence and creativity that is is only common among the elite talent in the UFC’s stable.
Where Bisping fought to make a living, Rockhold took on the sport as a personal challenge. There is a sense of entitlement about the the Californian that obviously boils Bisping right to the tips of his blue collar. Their feud has been one of the most talked about things in UFC media for the last two years and whilst Bisping holds a job as Fox Sports analyst he has taken every opportunity to chip away at Rockhold and express his disdain.
When they walked in with the stable of Australian fighters there was an expectant electricity in the air. The moment Tom Wright finished with his introductions of the fighters and the thanked the harbour city for turning on such a fine day it took about five seconds and the sledging began.
Just like does in the cage, the Manchester-based Brit’s work rate behind the microphone simply left Rockhold lost for words. He clearly got frustrated playing the bull to Bisping’s matador, whilst the Brit cooly worked a crowd he assumed was his, having fought here three times before and having an Australian wife.
On whether he would take the bet to not be finished by Rockhold in the first round: “You look at me and you look at Luke you can obviously see that Luke needs the money. I dress in the finest clothes.
“Luke, your supposed to wear a suit; it’s a press conference. Incidentally I get paid four to five times more than you and there is a reason why that is. Perhaps I’ll donate some money so you can buy yourself a suit for you to wear after I kick your arse on November 8th.”
On declaring himself Strikeforce Champion after a sparring session with Rockhold when he held the Strikeforce Middleweight belt:
“I immediately apologised, I was having a laugh OK? This guy just cannot get over it it, OK? It’s called a joke OK?
“Simmer down, get over it, stop getting on like a prepubescent 12-year-old. I don’t know if it was the time of the month – if it was then or if it is now- it was a joke. but… I kicked his arse in the first and the third round. I was wearing sparring gloves and he was wearing four-ounce MMA gloves. He knows it, I know it and,on November 8th; the world is going to know it.”
At the end of the conference when asked about his title aspirations “I still very much want to be world champion and I believe I can achieve it” stated the Brit firmly. “That’s not going to happen” dismissed Rockhold with a smug smile.
As they squared off with the one on one photo and the microphone was pulled away the ill feeling was all too evident as both fighters snarled insults at each other through fixed smiles.
I cornered Michael Bisping afterwards and asked him a couple of questions.
A.G: What about Anderson Silva, are you happy to have him back in the mix?
M.B: I would love to fight Anderson Silva. He is a legend. I have been trying to get the opportunity to fight him for years. You want to test yourself against the best. It would be a shame to retire with all that time fighting in the same weight division.
When I retire I want to look back on my career and know I fought the best and he is considered the greatest – I went to be able to tell myself and my fans that I have fought the greatest and test myself against him.
A.G: Three of your title runs have come short. It must be a bitter pill to swallow that all of the guys that stopped you did so on Testosterone Replacement Therapy. One of those fights, many people, Dana White included, believed you won. Your good friend Brian Stann even left the Middleweight division because of fighting guys on PEDs. Whats your take on this?
M.B: I forgot to mention PEDs up there didn’t I? Now for Therapeutic Exemption it means you need it to have a healthy life. After it has been banned we have fighters saying they are going on to fight without it who have previously claimed they needed it. You either need it or you don’t!
I’m not a doctor but if you are telling the commission that you need it to live normally one week and then come back and say it’s no longer necessary for you to fight then clearly you were taking advantage of the system. I am not saying they were breaking the rules as the rules allowed for this but I believe it was still cheating. They were using substances to increase their performances in competition. You can either do this sport or you can’t. There are things I can’t do that I have to live with and so should they.
A.G: In your last fight against Chung Le it seemed that we saw the Michael Bisping of old. You work rate was there and that killer instinct was there present that seems lacking in the last few outings. Can you attribute that to anything in particular?
M.B: Thanks. I don’t know exactly, you always think your preparing the best you can until afterwards. 20/20 hindsight means I take what I learnt from the last fights and look to improve. I believe that I came back too quickly after the Kennedy fight and didn’t do enough work on my Jiu Jitsu and grappling. I feel really focused at the moment and am looking forward to beating this guy.
A.G: This guy looks like he can take the fight anywhere. Do you think he will try and make a statement by trying to beat you on the feet?
M.B: I think he will take the fight to the ground actually. He has very strong Jui Jitsu and ground game and I think its much safer for him there. (laughs) Did you see him over there earlier? He came up to me in really got in my personal space! It was a little bit weird! After all the cameras were turned away, I asked him what he was doing. I mean doing it for the press is one thing but don’t come up and touch me!
Listen to the presser here:
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