“The way I fought (on Saturday) is the way I used to fight in England, destroying guys. I don’t think I am anywhere near the finished product but I think I can go through the majority of the middleweight division. And if I want to take on Anderson Silva I have to get on my game. I have a long hard road ahead but I am willing to make the sacrifices. I will do it. I am on a mission. I would like to be the first UK guy to hold a UFC belt.”
– Michael Bisping tells the LancashireEveningTelegraph.com that he is gunning for UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. “The Count” has two fights in eight weeks at 185 pounds and has looked tremendous in both bouts. He most recently defeated Jason Day at UFC 85: “Bedlam” this past weekend at the O2 Arena in London, England, via first round technical knockout.
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good luck… why anyone would want to fight silva right now is beyond me
He is not sayng that he is ready for him right now, but it sounds like he believes it is not to far in the future. Bispng and Nate Quarry would be a very tough and exciting matchup and no one should ever really look past Leban.Franklin looked sloppy against Lutter even though he won, he really should have been able to knock Lutter out. Sometimes a crap fighter can make you look bad, that may well have been the case.I would like to see Franklin put in another outstanding performance like he did with Tanner and The Crow (can’t spell his second name) to convince me he has still got it in him. Bisping difinately has the tools and potential to get there, but there are some solid fighters in that division he is definately going to have to work for it. Unless maybe he gets lucky like Forrest did with Rampage.
good call’
Quarry vs. Bisping would be a great fight…
That fight would be an ideal fight for Bisping to take right now…But imo he would definatly not want to fight Franklin…Way to risky…
Quarry, Leban, Marquardt, Cote, Horn, would all be ideal fights for him(right now)
If he fairs well against any of these fighters(maybe two, “if he needs it)..if he wins and he feel’s confident?? then fight Franklin…
stay away from Hendo..
Franklin is head and shoulders above every MW except Silva. And he did knock Lutter out in the second round.
he’s head and shoulder above Marquardt??give me a break.
well marquardt gave up alot faster than everybody else did..leben and franklin had enough heart to not give up till silva put them out!!!all marquartd did was take one single shot down the pipe…panic go for a bad “matt hughes single leg” and then he got switched and took one more shot and rolled over for cover and gave up! marquardt had not beat anybody significant for his first title shot..the only thing that earned him that was his hype form being a 7 time pancrase! marquardt is doing alot better now though..but i see the same out come with silva and hendo..even franklin
PW, Franklin is in no way shape or form “head and shoulders” above Dan Henderson. The two of them should be fighting pretty soon so we’ll all be witness to the next Rich Franklin destruction, only this time it will be at the hands of a HEnderson rather than an Anderson
yeah im game for that fight! that should be very exciting…but i really think henderson belongs at 205. he loses so much of himself at a MW. as long as henderson and franklin dont go down the easy way like marquardt did im fine..henderson and franklin can take a beating like a real fighter. seriouly! who decisions dean lister and joe doerkson!
Hendo fought the majority of his PRIDE career at 183 lbs. When he fights at 205, he comes in a little light because he cuts zero weight. That’s what he walks around at.
Bisping is a BEAST at 185 lbs. All middleweights must take notice. The division is filled with great potential match ups for Bisping. It will be very interesting to see who they pai8r him up against next.
I say: Bisping vs. Leites would be a very interesting fight!
That would be good match up there John.
Bisping vs Leben MUST, MUST, MUST happen!
If Nate couldn’t finish Leites, I don’t see Bisping finishing him. IMO Nate throws harder than Bisping.
Bisping vs Nate would be a good matchup as well, but I don’t think Bisping is ready for Nate yet…
nate marquardt ppl not nate quarry
NATE IS THE REAL BEAST. HE PERFORMED LIKE A MONSTER LAST SATURDAY. HE LOST POINTS DUE TO HIT BACK OF HEAD AND ILLEGAL KNEE, THAT’S WHY HE LOST THAT FIGHT.
No $hit
I would considering “The Spider” has already cleaned house! Why not?
I called this! Bisping is an animal. At 185, he is as good as all the competition…except Anderson! He is now used to fighting in the big show, and has steadily moved up in his competition! With Anderson moving up to LHW (which I feel he will do great at), Bisping has a shot to wreck a few more guys and fight for the title…which he’ll lose.
I like bisping, and really like the move to MW
didn’t you see how Nate fought last Saturday? that dude’s a bigger animal than Bisping is. he supposely won but lost points to hitting back of the head and illegal knee. Nate is the real animal.
i agree and would love to see that match up
He has a very good “mind-set” right now…
Bisping is a pure KILLER at 185lbs..
He does need to fight, the right fights, for now…
Maybe a Marquardt, Leban, Cote(depending how he does), or Kampmann??
But imo’ for now, he should definatly stay away from a Hendo, Franklin or “OF COARSE” Anderson Silva!
Bisping definitely looks ten times better at 185.
I feel like Marquardt, Leben, Cote or Kampmann would be a step-up in competition for The Count.
IF he can get passed 2 of those guys, then a Franklin or Hendo, then I would say he’s ready for Silva.
Marquadt vs Bisping makes the most sense but what if Nate wins?
Bisping v Leben should be next!
I enjoyed seen him at 85 the place exploded when he came out,and he looks way better at 85 but he is a work in progress
I have to admit, Bisping has won me over.
I’m coming close to that as well…I thought he would lose this fight and he won in impressive fashion
Good fair comments here! The crowd go mental for him! and bisping gets so pumped up with pride aggression and cockyness! there are plenty of fights he can take but i want him to fight Leben still.
Bisping looks like he’s ready for any stand up fighter at MW, except Silva, Franklin and Hendo. He looked very impressive.
In terms of standup he would probably outpoint Hendo I reckon but he’d have to watch out or that overhand right (Dan could win with his wrestling though).
On current form I must say I can’t really even see Hendo up there with Franklin. Hendo looked pretty tired after the first round just from lying on top of Anderson. He’s got to prove that he’s not over the hill in my book. Fair enough he’s fought two of the top guys in the LHW and MW divisions. But in both he fared well in the early going and then seemed to get tired, (against Rampage anyway). I do realise he got caught badly against Anderson because he stupidly began to think he could stand with him but like I said earlier he was already looking very tired at the end of the first round from doing nothing. Age maybe.
I would love to see Hendo fight Franklin. I wish they would add that fight to the Rampage vs. Forrest fight.
His attitude has always rubbed me the wrong way. Lost me after the Hamill fight.
He’s looking better every fight since he wentg down to 185 and being a brit myself Ive been rooting for him since TUF and he’s actually a decent guy.
I dont understand why people would dislike him at all really but I guess some people dont need an excuse!
As people have mentioned a next tier fighter is needed because ‘Dooms’ Day didn’t show anything that night.
He is definately trying to get better and clearly is…especially his cardio which was always suspect at 205.
Just dont give him Hendo as Dan is the man and he would clearly be outclassed and as for silva..need I say anything else!!
Stay away from Franklin,Hendo???? If he’s so freaking great then why stay away? Why doesn’t he request one of them? He’s all hype until he walks through one of those top 185er’s.
Agree, Jason Day is hardly a test. Leban would have been a better challenge. But the any of the top 6-8 guys will give him fits. He dropped down so he should be able to handle it, right.
exactly… in order to get to the top of the 185 heap, you gotta beat the top guys in the division and right now Bisping’s fastest way to Silva is to fight Franklin or Hendo. Isn’t that what Bisping wants, a title shot? He should stop taking all these soft fights and test himself for once in his career.
I am sure if did request one of them you would be bitching about how cocky he is and what makes him think he good enogh to be taking one of them on. Any excuse to hate.
nah hes just a can eater thats all…hmmm Micheal”boyardi” Bisping!
B.S! Keep talkin like he’s sittin there picking the fights himself… UFC has no reason to coddle Bisping, this isn’t Elite XC and he’s not Kimbo!
i think that bisping could deff go toe to toe with rich franklin. franklin did not look that impressive against luter. i am a rich franklin fan but i do not know if he could handle bispings intensity! he couldnt agaist silva.
i do not think hendo would be a good fight for him because hendo has sick wrestling skills and bisping even said in an interview that wrestlers are his krymptonite! i think rich and or leben would be his best next fight.
totally agree with you franklin or leben next
You say that as if Leben and Franklin are on the same level. Leben is a good fighter, always entertaining, and I love watching him. Franklin, regardless of his two fights against Silva, is one of the elite fighters in the world. Bisping is in no way ready to face Franklin.
we will see ihope your still around when bispin kicks his ass ok deal ?
boyer…boyerdi like the can? like bisping likes to fight? here is the deal with the lutter fight…silva looked just as bad as franklin against Lutter…it sjust lutter he is a slow paces fighter…crap set up shots. horrible conditioning…always wanting to pull guard..fighting a guy like lutter will always make you look slow paced.
i just think bisping would beat him if you think im wrong then fine lol but my money would be on him mate
if he fights leben he would struggle because leben has very powerful punches, more powerful than bispings and he has an amazing chin, i mean he stood toe to toe with terry martin, he’s a beast. so i think leben would win in that aspect and if we’re talking about the ground then i would say it would be even.they are both underestimated with thier takedowns and both there ground and pound is good and as for submissions i say thats as even as it gets …. i think leben has better submissions but bisping is very good at avoiding them
Leben sucks, I remember the pre-fight for his Anderson Silva match “I’m a dump truck, he’s gonna hit me and I’m just gonna keep moving forward” my ass, deuche needs to quit dyeing his hair too, he’s not ever going to hold a belt no way no how, Leben’s just a measuring stick basically if a fighter can’t get past Leben at least, then he isn’t going anywhere…
He should beat one quality fighter before he talks about title contention.
He lost to Rashad and he lost to Hamill. The rest were cans.
That is pretty much what he said…I missed the part when he said he is in title contention..
Bisping quote-
“” I am anywhere near the finished product but I think I can go through the majority of the middleweight division. And if I want to take on Anderson Silva I have to get on my game. I have a long hard road ahead but I am willing to make the sacrifices. I will do it. I am on a mission. “”
The point is that before joining UFC he walked through opponents (he was underdog against Cage Rage champion and beat him easily twice), so probably just took it in his stride.
He then fought what people now call cans, but guys who could wrestle or submit, skills not taken too seriously in UK. So he learns these skills slowly, and against Hamill realised that he’s no longer going to find it easy, and must dramatically improve to get to the top.
Now at 185 he has a size and fitness advantage (watch on youtube an interview with him and Joe Rogan after TUF- he looks fucking fat compared to now), but is still improving at a dramatic rate compared to most UFC fighters (who are based in US and have much more knowledge of wrestling and/or Ju Jitsu).
So he should move up the level of opponent slowly so he’s ready when the time comes to take on Franklin. Did anyone notice that he out-wrestled Jason Day? That’s the first time he’s ever used wrestling to win a bout- he’s becoming an all rounder.
Like doomsday was a good test?!?!? come on BISBING is UFC’s U.K. POSTER CHILD.
THat wasn’t even a fight!!!!
Jason Day was on a 5 fight win streak including a win over David Loiseau!
But u dun kno bout that boiiiiiiii
lol!! boi….like boiyardi!!! like the can soup..like what bisping likes to fight!
about 80% of you was saying day could beat bisping
Bisping’s a great fighter but i’m not impressed with his performance and the fight wasn’t that great or phenomenal.
I dont think that he’ll ever be ready for Silva, no matter how much of a finished product he is. Maybe after Silva relaxes his domination and slips alittle, Bisping or any others might have a chance.
Joe Silva, will you please put Bisping up against an A-Level fighter so he can get his ass thoroughly kicked and bring him back down to earth?! His post fight speech was as is if he’d just been knighted. Can anyone honestly say that he wouldn’t get crushed by Marquardt, Franklin, Hendo, Okami, even Leites? Let alone Anderson Sila. I’d even say Leben would give him a good run for his money.
He’s totally thrilled with himself for smashing Jason Day. Well- no offense to Jason Day- I thought he made a valiant effort taking the fight on short notice, in front of his opponent’s hometown crowd, overseas, and only his second bout in the UFC; but the guy works construction full time and works out on his off hours at a local gym in a small city of about 100,000. Bisping’s been running around training with big gyms in the UK for a long time and Rampage’s camp stateside! And he trains full time! The fight wasn’t apples vs apples. No wonder he looked good. All I’m saying is lets level the playing field for once and put someone up against Bisping that has the same advantages and isn’t a B or C level fighter. For the record- Bisping is a B+ fighter- in my opinion.
That may be well and true, but there were a lot out there saying Bisping was going to lose this one and that Day was no joke. Some people seem to change there minds pretty quick. Not saying you are one of them, but this seemed as good a place as any for my comment.
welli said jason was goign to beat micheal..didnt bet on it though…i knew bisping was gonna take it..i just hate bispings “top contender” state of mind..i just wanted him to lose.
Everyone said how good Day was before the fight!
Oh yes, and Bisping is not picking his opponents. The UFC just want to build up a blockbuster fight for Bisping, thats all. Its a common practice.
The Ufc did ask Quarry to fight Bisping but he said he injured his elbow!
Bisping has a bright future in this division. He may compete for the belt sometime soon – much to the dismay of many on this board. I’m sure that he will be given a major step-up in terms of the quality of his next opponent. And, I’m equally sure he’ll win. That includes Franklin (who is no longer the Rich Franklin of old), Okami,Tanner, Marquardt, etc. The only guys who are of real concern are Cote, Leben, and Hendo…the guys who throw bombs.
Leben is the class of this division since he cleaned up his act (please exclude Silva from this). Yes, I just said that…he’s downright scary for the rest of the title contenders. His last two victories were awesome. I’d match him up against anyone in the division. I expect many to disagree with this – that’s fine as we are all entitled to our views. I can’t see anyone at 185(other than the Champ) knocking him out. But I can see him knocking out the entire division (including the Champ). As much as I like Bisping, I think he dodged a loss this past weekend.
I hope Bisping fights Leban next… if anything just to shut up all his critics!!!!
the “count” could fight and KO Rich Franklin and all the bisping haters would still be talkin trash and sayin he is average!! I guess you either love him or hate him eh!
Michael Bisping will be UFC Middlewight Champion.
Remember my words…
9-Jun-2008
Anderson Silva will lose his desire to fight.
Remember my words…
9-Jun-2008
There, either we’re both right or we’re both wrong.
emiliano, Pat r u kidging.. you forgot to say you’ve been punk’d.. bisping champ.. ha ha ha… he aint top 15 in 05 had to go down and nw hes not top 10 in 85…. you 2 are jokes …
he’ll never be a champ. talkin about takin on Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Wandy Silva, Anderson Silva, did you see how Nate fought last saturday? that dude’s a monster, Anderson Silva is too quick and he’s able to dodge and counter punch to ko Bisping just like he did to Leben. i don’t Bisping can beat these top guys but he can take on the b level fighters like Rock Quarry, Martin Kampmann, Chris Leben, Thales Lietas, Drew Mcfedries, and many more.
i agree w u ,he isnt even top 10 ,hes good at fillin in the undercard
are u kidding me ???
who has he beat ,hamill killed him
and if it wasnt uk judges hed a lost that fight ,besides ,day,and the guys hes fought in 185 couldnt shine andersons shoes,bisping dont get caulky,fight some contenders ,misaki,okami,kang,franklin,henderson marquardt,cmon bisping u pick ur fights ,rumours r leben was fine and bisping said no way cuz day was already penciled in the 2cd time ,i think leben wouldve beat him
okay first of all i agree with you but you got it wrong too!! here is why it so contreversial…all the american judges scored it for bisping while the only brit judge scored it for hammil!
quarry,kampmann would kill him too ,bisping isnt even top 10 in 185
Quarry was scared he made that up! leben got locked up to avoid the fight! bring them on because what happened at light heavy means nothing! the big fat american wrestlers cant lie on top of bisping in this division.
yea i dont think kampmann is a b level fighter, he was penciled for a fight with rich franklin before he got injured
I think Bisping has what it takes. He is will to win made an impression on me in the Sinosic fight where he got out of some pretty bad spots with willpower alone. He is the real deal. The way he looks now, I see him giving all the top MWs some trouble except for those with a lot of strength and wrestling skills like Hendo and Okami. Bisping v. Sylvia would be a great fight.
thales leites would be a good next match up both coming off wins. he dropped mraquardt and was winning the fight until he got badly rocked from the illegal knee. He’s a tough dude and even when he continued dazed some vicious gnp couldn’t put him away. bisping vs thales leites ufc 88
oh an did anyone else see that pile driver? marquardt is also a beast
I don’t really like bisping and his attitude. Especially after the hamil fight. IMO hes over rated and hyped up so the UFC can bank it everytime they go to England.
I think bisping definetely fights Leben or Quarry next. Hendo v Marquardt, Horn v Leites, Rich v Kampman & Cote v Leben/Quarry. That is, if A Silva stays @ 185 & is fighting Okami next. Apparantly a lot of things could change in this division come Thursday.
I think Chris Leben and Marquart should fight.
They need to bring back Don Frye. What’s the matter with you guys? Whatever happened to the real macho men back in the day? Today’s UFC fighters just jump on each other and rub each other’s feet. It’s gross and unmanly, really.
Bisping looks very fast and powerful as a middleweight. The fact he was small for a light heavy weight was leaving him rather suspectible to wrestlers at that weight class, his take down defense should probably be better as a middleweight. That said he needs to work on his jujitsu and wrestling before he’s well rounded enough to have much of a chance against the top of the division. He seems to indicate he wants to work his way up the ladder and doesn’t think he’s ready for a title shot immediately. To some extent that’s a ‘no kidding’ statement. However, I think its unfair of a few posters to disparage his ultimate goal of winning a title. That’s rather like a football player saying he wants to win the Superbowl – everyone wants to win a championship, no one really has a mediocre showing as their career objective.
Anderson will KTF out of Bisping. It’d suprise me if it went beyond round 1. Put Bisping in with Rich Franklin and we’ll soon see how good/bad he is.
I’m from UK too so I’m not biased towards Anderson.
Suprise is obviously a special word for SURPRISE lol
Henderson would rip bispings head off.. franklin would tear him apart.. evan leban would give him a a$$ whoopin.. is this guy fo real .. 1 win at 85 and he would go through the div.. i think he got hit 2 hard..
henderson should get a title shot after maybe 2 fights.. franklin and bisping.. he got in with the best to fast.. he should have got a lil more cage time 1st.. it was 7-8 years.. hes the only comp in 85… i think he can do it.. just need more time in da cage..