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| Article: |
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| The Body Count |
David West |
We talk to British star Michael Bisping to talk about his stateside success and September's UFC 75 in London!
FSM: How much has your life changed since your big win over Elvis Sinosic at UFC 70, which was the UFC’s big re-debut here in Britain?
Michael Bisping: Winning that fight was fantastic. But as for my life, I don’t think it’s really changed, it’s just the same. I’m getting a bit more attention now from some of the public, but my life hasn’t really changed. It’s just one extra win, one step closer to the title. I’ve got to keep on doing what I’m doing.
FSM: How much did the reception that the crowd gave you at Manchester – which is probably as close as you’ll get to hometown fight in the UFC – inspire you that night?
MB: It just blew me away – absolutely blew me away. Nothing could have prepared me for that. Now that I’ve experienced that, I’m assuming that next time it’s going to be just the same in London, so I can take something away from that. I’ve got things to work on, because maybe I was still a bit amateurish in the fight with Elvis. The adrenalin took over and I was on autopilot – it was just a blur and I wasn’t really thinking, and it could have cost me the fight. When I watch it back now I’m like, “What was I doing?” I was like a man possessed, literally, so I’ve got to work on that and learn to use it to the better.
FSM: In terms of that focus, do you think that you’ll ever be as ice cold as someone like Mirko Cro Cop?
MB: Normally when I go into my fights I’m pretty cool, I’m laughing and joking. But I don’t think I’ll ever be quite as ice cold as that, because it’s not who I am. To be calm and collected is the best way, because you’ve got to think – as they say, it really is a physical chess match, so you’ve got to have your wits about you. You still need that aggression.
FSM: Ever since The Ultimate Fighter 3, you’ve very much become the face of the UFC in Britain – far moreso than any of the previous British fighters that have made it to the UFC like Mark Weir or Ian Freeman. Do you feel that it puts a lot of extra pressure on you?
MB: It’s not an added pressure – nothing puts more pressure on me than the pressure I put on myself. All of this is great, because it makes me realise just how far I’ve come and how I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to take a step back because every time out it gets better and better and there are more and more rewards. Yeah, there’s pressure, but I turn it into a positive pressure, which makes me work harder in the gym, makes me more professional, makes me eat right, things like that. So it’s great – it makes you realise what can happen, and how far you’ve really come.
FSM: Have you been training in the States much since The Ultimate Fighter?
MB: No, not recently. That said, I am going to Vegas tomorrow for some more PR stuff. I’m going to stay out there and do a little bit of training, maybe for a few weeks or so, but the Wolfslair is what got me where I am today. I’ve got to say thanks to my teammates and my coaches there, so I’m not about to turn around and forget about them. They got me where I am and I’m sure that they’ll help to further my career.
FSM: What do you think Ross Pointon, your fellow TUF alumnus who’s been fighting recently in Cage Rage, can do to turn his career around?
MB: “I think Ross has got the heart and the desire, but he needs to maybe take some time out from fighting and go and join a good Ju Jitsu camp, spend a year or two years there and then come back. That’s what I would do. He was on The Ultimate Fighter and he’s a very popular guy, but you can’t learn in the Octagon – you’ve got to have the skills when you get there. Maybe he should take time out, focus on learning some new skills and then try and re-launch himself from there.
FSM: With Rampage Jackson winning the Light Heavyweight Championship from Chuck Liddell, it’s really shaken up the division. Where do you see yourself in the light-heavy mix in terms of lining up for a title shot?
MB: Two years ago people were saying how it wasn’t a very stacked division. Well, now it’s ridiculously stacked, it’s unbelievable. It’s the same with all the divisions in the UFC – people said the same about heavyweight, but now that’s stacked as well. At light heavyweight now you’ve got Lyoto Machida in there, Forrest Griffin – he took a bad loss, but losses happen; Keith Jardine, the guy who beat him, the same thing happened to him. Lyoto Machida is probably in the running, and Rashad Evans for sure. There are some great fighters and some great fights for the fans to see, so I’ve got to do what I can and try to beat them…
For the rest of this feature, check out issue 17 of FSM – available at WH Smith and all good retailers. (For US readers we are now carried at Borders, so check for local availability or click here to subscribe.)
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