Why new UFC champion Michael Bisping may never get recognition he deserves from British audiences

Last week, I wrote about English UFC fighter Michael Bisping’s 10-year wait for a championship opportunity, and how a seemingly-unlikely victory over Luke Rockhold would help him finally gain mainstream recognition as a British sports star.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/ufc-199-michael-bispings-10-year-journey-towards-064639667.html

Most MMA fans knew he had a chance in the contest on Saturday night, even at (or perhaps especially at) just a couple weeks notice following the injury to scheduled Rockhold challenger Chris Weidman.

However, very few predicted the bout going the way it actually did.

Deep into the first of five five-minute rounds, Bisping rocked Rockhold hard with a left hand, before pouncing immediately with another when the defending middleweight champion attempted to weather the blow. The second was enough to put the American onto the mat, at which point Michael hovered over his fallen opponent to force the referee to award him the fight and the title.

With the narrative now complete, it’s easy to wonder at first glance why we haven’t heard even more about Bisping’s crowning moment than we already have.

Over his 10-year UFC career, ‘The Count’ became known as the company’s best fighter to never receive a championship bout. As my preview documented, his seven career defeats almost all came at critical times: championship eliminators, high-profile fights versus former or future champions.

Bisping ran the risk of forever being branded a ‘B+ student’, which makes his 2016 inside the Octagon so far so compelling.

After rightfully edging an epic contest versus all-time legend Anderson Silva in front of a rabid London crowd at the O2 Arena, it looked as though Bisping would finally get his shot. Stepping in at such short notice to cover an injury for said shot seemed so typical of his journey so far, but the gamble paid off.

His perseverance, drive and ability to find a gear he didn’t know he had when the chips were down have led to a sparkling 2016 so far, which will likely be concluded by a third and deciding bout vs Rockhold. Win lose or draw in that one, this has been Michael’s year.

So, can we expect to see him cap the year by becoming the first mixed martial artist to finish in the top three of BBC Sports Personality of the Year?

To be blunt, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

On the one hand, a glance at the current odds for the divisive award make it easy to feel Bisping is underappreciated. Four boxers are on bookmakers’ lists - Anthony Joshua, Amir Khan, Tyson Fury and Nicola Adams - and while Joshua and Adams are off to good starts in 2016 and deserve to be considered as in the running. Khan, however, has spent his year so far offering a decisive victory over himself to the highest bidder - ultimately accepted by Canelo Alvarez.

Fury, meanwhile, fights for the first time on July 9 in his rematch vs Wladimir Klitschko. And, of course, his consideration for such awards always causes a stir thanks to his continual insistence on using foul language and offensive slurs.

By that logic, we may now know why Michael Bisping does not receive mainstream recognition on these shores - and he offered a fresh example as recently as the press conference after his title win.

Rockhold and Bisping, unlike many fighters, were far from relaxed and cordial after their bout. In fact, the defeated California man refused to shake Bisping’s hand at the presser, and branded him a “smug [censored]” among other things.

To that particular remark, Bisping quickly countered with his own colourful taunts, before punctuating his tirade with “fa***t!”.

The new champion quickly realised the gravitas of what he said, adding: “[censored], I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

But, he did. And it wasn’t the first time.

Back at UFC 127, Bisping was recorded calling Jorge Rivera a “[anti-gay slur] mother-[censored]” in a promotional video.

I’m not here to crank the outrage meter up to 11, nor do I believe Bisping - whom I’ve spoken to for interviews several times and comes across absolutely fine when not spurred into stupidity by the nature of competing in and promoting fights - is deeply filled with prejudice.

However, it’s fair to say that such casual spewing of irrelevant hate dialogue is as unnecessary as it is unsavoury, and that even now as UFC champion, Bisping could be so much more - especially here in Britain - with a little extra common sense and a little less alienating himself from the mainstream.

Whether he receives recognition from peripheral bodies such as the BBC or not, it must be said that his success has been hard-earned and well-deserved. And, if he does indeed fight Rockhold for a third time, we are set for an exciting conclusion to a feud showing little sign of cooling off.

Rockhold, in an interview this week, claimed that while he showed sportsmanship to Michael after winning their first fight, Bisping couldn’t taunt the American about winning the second bout fast enough. He claims that was behind his ill-tempered behaviour post-fight and has promised to silence Bisping in fight three.

If we thought a win over the legendary Anderson Silva and a dramatic championship win were enough to cement Bisping’s MMA legacy, perhaps the Rockhold rubber will put both in the shade when this vendetta reaches breaking point.