If you were to align one fighting characteristic with every competitor in the UFC, Michael Bisping’s would be resilience. His career, which continues this weekend in a title fight against heavy favorite Luke Rockhold, is littered with examples of determination as he defies expectations and quiets doubters.
Bisping was unable to fully commit to training early in his career. To pay the bills he had to work at slaughterhouses, factories and demolition companies. He tiled roofs, he plastered walls. But now the slaughter and demolition is confined to an eight-sided cage.
Michael Bisping: The Resilient Challenger
Perhaps the most astonishing example of Bisping’s resilience is the fact he has come back from losing partial vision in one eye in 2013. He was kicked in the head by Vitor Belfort, who turned out to be hopped up on testosterone replacement therapy. A detached retina and numerous surgeries later and Bisping declared he was permanently disfigured. The changes to depth perception would be horribly difficult to overcome for anyone but the importance of clear sight is elevated when fists, knees, elbows and feet are flying towards you.
After initial success reattaching the retina, a training accident knocked it loose again. Eventually doctors offered the welcome prognosis Bisping had been waiting for, restoring partial vision to the damaged eye.
It seems almost laughable that a 37-year-old will be competing to become the UFC Middleweight Champion. Even more so when Chris Weidman had to withdraw from the intended title bout with Rockhold at UFC 199, leaving Bisping just two weeks to prepare.
So now it’s a 37-year-old on short notice. The obstacles are adding up but underdogs are afforded a freedom of expectation that can become a burden to a hot favourite. If Bisping can take advantage of this ‘nothing to lose’ mentality he becomes a far more dangerous prospect.
Michael Bisping would also become the first British champion, a potentially landmark moment for mixed martial arts in the UK which still bubbles under the surface where boxing reigns.
He was dubbed the ‘Great British Hope’ by the UFC in 2006 and the moniker rings true a decade later. The father of two from Manchester embodies those cliché British qualities of bloody-minded grit and stoicism. He is a no nonsense man as the press conference ahead of UFC 199 perfectly illustrated:
Luke Rockhold addressed the crowd with his motivational mantra, “Some people strive to achieve things, and some people strive to hate. If you think something, the likelihood of it happening is very slim. If you believe in something, if you know something is going to happen, you will achieve things in life. You believe it and you achieve it, and that’s what I do.”
Bisping’s response was as immediate and cutting as one of his right hooks:
“Sounds like the worst self help book you’ve ever read. Conceive, believe, achieve. Shut the **** up.”
