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Michael Bisping is a man that is always in the spotlight. Since he won The Ultimate Fighter 3 back in 2006, the Wolfslair star hasn't had a minute to look back and reflect on his successful career. He stands at a record of 9-3 in the Octagon, having entered the UFC undefeated as a former Cage Rage, and Cage Warriors, light heavyweight champion. It's a CV that many in the sport can only dream about.
Today, the thirty one year old is one of the most recognised fighters in the UFC and was one of the men who kick started the spike in the sport's popularity in the UK. He has a "Fighter of the Year" trophy in the bag from Nuts Magazine in 2008, a "Coolest Man in the UK" award from Zoo Magazine and despite his last fight being over four months old, his name is all over Twitter and the internet, as his war of words with middleweights Chael Sonnen and Patrick Cote escalates online.
In between filming scenes for several future episodes of Hollyoaks, signing autographs for fans in various GameStation stores and spending time at home, Bisping has to find time to prepare for a fighter who has only lost once in five and a half years. Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama is his opponent on October 16th at the O2 Arena in London.
"It's seven and a half weeks out from the fight now and now the proper camp will start and I'm at a good starting point" he said when we caught up with him last week. "You know, sometimes you can let yourself go after a fight, but I've managed to maintain an overall decent level of fitness and conditioning".
The fight with Akiyama is expected to be a great battle for both men, with Bisping coming off the back of a good unanimous decision victory over Dan Miller at UFC 114. Akiyama, who fought Chris Leben in a potential fight of the year candidate at UFC 116, is known for his judo ability having won two gold medals as a competitor. It's something Bisping is already prepared for, despite rumours of a Vitor Belfort fight earlier in the year.
"I've never questioned an opponent once, and the UFC will back me up on that, but there was talk of it being Vitor Belfort originally and I thought - "that's a tasty one", you know?" he admits.
"But obviously, I said I wasn't going to turn it down and then low and behold the opponent was changed at the last minute to Akiyama. I think he's very dangerous, but it's certainly a fight that I should win. I see myself as the favourite in this fight and if I don't win, then I'll be very disappointed.
"As I've said, he's dangerous, he's an exciting fighter, but I do think that if I fight to the best of my ability then I should be able to deal with him".
The fight with Akiyama is Bisping's third main event fight - and his first at the O2 Arena in London. The thought of headlining the event excites Bisping, who admits that fighting at that particular venue will be a fantastic experience.
However, some UK fans have voiced their displeasure over the fight card, as well as the headline attraction, despite the event almost selling out in record equalling time. Bisping remains disappointed at some of the comments made on various forums about himself and the fight, but concedes that it is to be expected once you put yourself in the public eye.
"To be honest, you've got to have thick skin in this business - you put yourself in the public eye and you're going to get negative comments" admits Bisping.
"I think now it's become the cool thing to slag me off - I don't know where it's come from a lot of it to be honest. You know, I'm an approachable guy, I always have time for everyone and yeah, sometimes I say some things sometimes that might piss people off a little bit, but most of the time it's tongue in cheek and I'm having a laugh and they don't get that" he adds.
"To see if from some of the UK guys pisses me off. I've been a proud ambassador of UK MMA, I've worked hard and I've helped grow the sport to where it is. I haven't disappeared off to America, like some Mohican wearing people and lived there and trained there, but then come back here and pretend I'm English.
"My roots are here in England and I stay here and I train here and I'm proud to be English. You know, I don't go training in America because the trainings better, but then come here and try and get all the UK fans on my side. I'm English and this is where I'm from and this is where I train".
Whilst the fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama is firmly on Bisping's mind, he's been forced to watch on as various middleweights have commented on a potential fight with the Wolfslair fighter in the future. First up was Patrick Cote, who recently said that Bisping was "arrogant" and "over-rated" in an interview on the Fighters Only website. It's something that Bisping has taken offence to.
"Patrick Cote is a piece of (expletive)" says Bisping "I've met Patrick Cote a couple of times. I've always found him to be okay, we've shook hands and I've had no issue with Patrick Cote and then out of the blue, he's talking (expletive) about me.
"He's just trying to make himself relevant again and he's trying to talk himself into a fight with me, which I'm not going to oblige" he continues. "I know I'm talking about him now because you asked, but I've just distanced it. I think I'm above Patrick Cote and he's beneath me. He needs to stop talking (expletive) about me and get his arse in the gym and try and win a fight".
Another middleweight who has been linked to a fight with Bisping is Chael Sonnen, with the latter saying on the MMA Live show that he will "bury Bisping where he stands" if he addresses him in public again. That hasn't settled too well with the thirty one year old, despite Bisping being impressed with his recent performances.
"Recently, he's looking phenomenal. I mean, (in) his last three fights he's been very dominating and he's been great" says Bisping. "I think personally he's a bit of a tool to be honest. Okay, he's great at what he does and I've definitely laughed my arse off at some of his comments. I think he's great, he's awesome at promoting a fight, he really is, but he's delusional and he's so far up his own arse it's unbelievable".
"I'd love to fight Chael Sonnen" he continues. "He said on MMA Live that if I ever address him in public again that he'll bury me where I stand. It's big words and I take offence. I mean I'm laughing now, but he's got a cheek to go on international television and say that.
"That's basically threatening me. He's not saying he'll fight me in the cage, but he said he's going to bury me where I stand, which obviously, I take issue with ever so slightly. But whatever, leave him to it".
Whilst the fight camp is well under way for most of the fighters competing at UFC 120, Bisping has spent the last few weeks of his preparation in and out of the gym as he films his acting part in Hollyoaks. It's something that the middleweight has enjoyed doing, and whilst he admits that he is a fighter first, he would love the opportunity of more acting experience in the future.
"I did a movie last year, which is just being released actually. I've read some reviews on the internet and it's not too bad" he laughs. "I did some acting lessons leading up to that obviously. Anything I do I take seriously, so I did some acting lessons, and really enjoyed that".
"We came back here and we had some talks with Lime studios - who make Hollyoaks" says Bisping. "They presented me with an opportunity to be in Hollyoaks Late Night. It's five, one hour long episodes, and it's a very gritty storyline shall we say. I play a bad guy in it and it's good, I enjoyed it. I think I've done a good job and again, I really enjoyed it".
For Bisping, the fight camp for Akiyama is now fully on his mind. Having put aside all the distractions, he is less than eight weeks away from another big fight in his career. With all eyes on the O2 Arena, he is preparing himself for a huge test when the cage door shuts.
Without looking too far past his opponent, Bisping feels a rematch with Wanderlai Silva could be on the cards after this fight, or possibly a fight with Chael Sonnen. Either way, he just wants to fight the top guys.
"I think if I beat Akiyama well, I think either a rematch with Wanderlai or Chael Sonnen or Marquardt or whoever the top guys are in line for the title - I want to fight one of them contenders and then hopefully get a shot".
With all eyes on the middleweight division over the next few months, you can be certain Michael Bisping will be in the mix.
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/wrestling-wwe-ufc-mma/2010/09/mirrortko-world-exclusive-mich.html
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Today, the thirty one year old is one of the most recognised fighters in the UFC and was one of the men who kick started the spike in the sport's popularity in the UK. He has a "Fighter of the Year" trophy in the bag from Nuts Magazine in 2008, a "Coolest Man in the UK" award from Zoo Magazine and despite his last fight being over four months old, his name is all over Twitter and the internet, as his war of words with middleweights Chael Sonnen and Patrick Cote escalates online.
In between filming scenes for several future episodes of Hollyoaks, signing autographs for fans in various GameStation stores and spending time at home, Bisping has to find time to prepare for a fighter who has only lost once in five and a half years. Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama is his opponent on October 16th at the O2 Arena in London.
"It's seven and a half weeks out from the fight now and now the proper camp will start and I'm at a good starting point" he said when we caught up with him last week. "You know, sometimes you can let yourself go after a fight, but I've managed to maintain an overall decent level of fitness and conditioning".
The fight with Akiyama is expected to be a great battle for both men, with Bisping coming off the back of a good unanimous decision victory over Dan Miller at UFC 114. Akiyama, who fought Chris Leben in a potential fight of the year candidate at UFC 116, is known for his judo ability having won two gold medals as a competitor. It's something Bisping is already prepared for, despite rumours of a Vitor Belfort fight earlier in the year.
"I've never questioned an opponent once, and the UFC will back me up on that, but there was talk of it being Vitor Belfort originally and I thought - "that's a tasty one", you know?" he admits.
"But obviously, I said I wasn't going to turn it down and then low and behold the opponent was changed at the last minute to Akiyama. I think he's very dangerous, but it's certainly a fight that I should win. I see myself as the favourite in this fight and if I don't win, then I'll be very disappointed.
"As I've said, he's dangerous, he's an exciting fighter, but I do think that if I fight to the best of my ability then I should be able to deal with him".
The fight with Akiyama is Bisping's third main event fight - and his first at the O2 Arena in London. The thought of headlining the event excites Bisping, who admits that fighting at that particular venue will be a fantastic experience.
However, some UK fans have voiced their displeasure over the fight card, as well as the headline attraction, despite the event almost selling out in record equalling time. Bisping remains disappointed at some of the comments made on various forums about himself and the fight, but concedes that it is to be expected once you put yourself in the public eye.
"To be honest, you've got to have thick skin in this business - you put yourself in the public eye and you're going to get negative comments" admits Bisping.
"I think now it's become the cool thing to slag me off - I don't know where it's come from a lot of it to be honest. You know, I'm an approachable guy, I always have time for everyone and yeah, sometimes I say some things sometimes that might piss people off a little bit, but most of the time it's tongue in cheek and I'm having a laugh and they don't get that" he adds.
"To see if from some of the UK guys pisses me off. I've been a proud ambassador of UK MMA, I've worked hard and I've helped grow the sport to where it is. I haven't disappeared off to America, like some Mohican wearing people and lived there and trained there, but then come back here and pretend I'm English.
"My roots are here in England and I stay here and I train here and I'm proud to be English. You know, I don't go training in America because the trainings better, but then come here and try and get all the UK fans on my side. I'm English and this is where I'm from and this is where I train".
Whilst the fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama is firmly on Bisping's mind, he's been forced to watch on as various middleweights have commented on a potential fight with the Wolfslair fighter in the future. First up was Patrick Cote, who recently said that Bisping was "arrogant" and "over-rated" in an interview on the Fighters Only website. It's something that Bisping has taken offence to.
"Patrick Cote is a piece of (expletive)" says Bisping "I've met Patrick Cote a couple of times. I've always found him to be okay, we've shook hands and I've had no issue with Patrick Cote and then out of the blue, he's talking (expletive) about me.
"He's just trying to make himself relevant again and he's trying to talk himself into a fight with me, which I'm not going to oblige" he continues. "I know I'm talking about him now because you asked, but I've just distanced it. I think I'm above Patrick Cote and he's beneath me. He needs to stop talking (expletive) about me and get his arse in the gym and try and win a fight".
Another middleweight who has been linked to a fight with Bisping is Chael Sonnen, with the latter saying on the MMA Live show that he will "bury Bisping where he stands" if he addresses him in public again. That hasn't settled too well with the thirty one year old, despite Bisping being impressed with his recent performances.
"Recently, he's looking phenomenal. I mean, (in) his last three fights he's been very dominating and he's been great" says Bisping. "I think personally he's a bit of a tool to be honest. Okay, he's great at what he does and I've definitely laughed my arse off at some of his comments. I think he's great, he's awesome at promoting a fight, he really is, but he's delusional and he's so far up his own arse it's unbelievable".
"I'd love to fight Chael Sonnen" he continues. "He said on MMA Live that if I ever address him in public again that he'll bury me where I stand. It's big words and I take offence. I mean I'm laughing now, but he's got a cheek to go on international television and say that.
"That's basically threatening me. He's not saying he'll fight me in the cage, but he said he's going to bury me where I stand, which obviously, I take issue with ever so slightly. But whatever, leave him to it".
Whilst the fight camp is well under way for most of the fighters competing at UFC 120, Bisping has spent the last few weeks of his preparation in and out of the gym as he films his acting part in Hollyoaks. It's something that the middleweight has enjoyed doing, and whilst he admits that he is a fighter first, he would love the opportunity of more acting experience in the future.
"I did a movie last year, which is just being released actually. I've read some reviews on the internet and it's not too bad" he laughs. "I did some acting lessons leading up to that obviously. Anything I do I take seriously, so I did some acting lessons, and really enjoyed that".
"We came back here and we had some talks with Lime studios - who make Hollyoaks" says Bisping. "They presented me with an opportunity to be in Hollyoaks Late Night. It's five, one hour long episodes, and it's a very gritty storyline shall we say. I play a bad guy in it and it's good, I enjoyed it. I think I've done a good job and again, I really enjoyed it".
For Bisping, the fight camp for Akiyama is now fully on his mind. Having put aside all the distractions, he is less than eight weeks away from another big fight in his career. With all eyes on the O2 Arena, he is preparing himself for a huge test when the cage door shuts.
Without looking too far past his opponent, Bisping feels a rematch with Wanderlai Silva could be on the cards after this fight, or possibly a fight with Chael Sonnen. Either way, he just wants to fight the top guys.
"I think if I beat Akiyama well, I think either a rematch with Wanderlai or Chael Sonnen or Marquardt or whoever the top guys are in line for the title - I want to fight one of them contenders and then hopefully get a shot".
With all eyes on the middleweight division over the next few months, you can be certain Michael Bisping will be in the mix.
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/wrestling-wwe-ufc-mma/2010/09/mirrortko-world-exclusive-mich.html
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, i just dont understand peoples full reason in absolutely despising the guy. Fair enough he was a prick to Hamill, but surely that doesnt warrant this sort of heat?
