The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Michael Bisping faces his greatest challenge

(Photo: Zuffa - Flickr)
Roar Rookie
26th May, 2016
2

Coming off the better end of a five-round war against Anderson Silva, widely regarded to be one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, Michael Bisping after more than a decade has finally acquired his title shot.

The circumstances are against him though. Bisping is fighting on less than two weeks notice, after Chris Weidman, seeking to avenge his loss against now middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, pulled out due to a neck injury.

Not only is the timing inconvenient, but the opponent which will face him across the Octagon on June 4 is even more intimidating.

Rockhold is a dangerous opponent for anyone in the middleweight division, he boasts a frightening left kick which was ultimately the clincher when Bisping succumbed to Rockhold’s striking power in Sydney, Australia (2014).

Not only is Rockhold strong in the stand up department, he also boasts an overall sound fighting game, with a diverse arsenal of jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Aside from his KO/TKO finish against wrestling dynamo Weidman his last three wins before that came via submission, which included adding Bisping to Rockhold’s growing submission resume.

So how is Bisping going to defeat an opponent who has been so dominant over the last few years and defeated him only two years ago?

If anyone can defeat Rockhold at the peak of his powers, it’s Bisping. He has made no secret of his desire to become the middleweight champion over the course of his long mixed martial arts career.

On UFC’s Fox Sports channel, he said: “It’s my destiny. I don’t just want a title shot, and a nice pay day. I’ve worked an entire lifetime to get here. I just beat the greatest of all time [Anderson Silva].”

Advertisement

While Bisping no doubt acquired the best win of his career to date against Silva in his home country of England, the circumstances, unlike now, were in his favour.

Silva had just served a one year suspension for failing drug tests in the lead up to his UFC 183 fight against Nick Diaz. It’s important to note, however, Silva’s position has always been that he never intentionally consumed any performance enhancing drugs.

Nevertheless, ring rust is a real thing, and though greatness is permanent, form is temporary. Bisping took advantage, and acquired a narrow unanimous decision victory against Silva. But if Bisping is to defeat the all-conquering Rockhold, it’s probably not going to be through a marathon, but a sprint.

Rockhold has had a genuine training camp behind him, meaning he will have the advantage cardiovascular-wise to go the distance.

Bisping will be looking to start the fight ablaze, and swarm onto Rockhold with his elite boxing skills, as a way to compensate for his lack of training.

Bisping’s courage is something to be admired, but whether it’s enough to overwhelm a conditioned star in the making in Rockhold is another question entirely.

close