The UFC Cannot Count On Michael Bisping For the Moment

By Anthony “Zute” George

Michael The Count Bisping, The UFC Middleweight Champion, has been as reliable as a Lexus since 2006. Bisping burst onto the UFC scene when he electrified television audiences once a week on The Ultimate Fighter Season Three; still one of the best seasons of the show. Since that successful run, Michael has had over 25 fights in the UFC. His most important victory occurring in June of 2016, when The Count upset UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold for middleweight gold. Bisping, who started out in the UFC as a light heavyweight, has been a model of consistency and evidence of hard work paying off. It is ironic, now that Bisping has climbed the ultimate mountain he will be experiencing his longest stretch of inactivity.

The UFC middleweight division has been given an unusual shot of adrenaline lately with the announcement of icon George St. Pierre returning to the UFC and planning to wreak havoc on the 185-pound division. Being champion, Michael Bisping was first in line to face what most fans think was the most dominant mixed martial artist of all time. However, GSP will not be ready until November. In the meantime, it was expected that ‘ol reliable (Bisping) would be defending his title against number one contender Yoel Romero sometime this Summer.

Here is where it gets tricky. Bisping did not seem anxious to fight Romero from the jump. Dana White gave Michael his revenge match against Dan Henderson, with the understanding that Bisping, if successful, would give Romero his long-awaited shot. Bisping did win, but the fight with Romero was given the crickets treatment.

A GSP fight is sure to generate big numbers and secure a big payday for Michael. Who can blame him for not wanting to face a killer like Romero in the meantime? With that said, in the meantime fights are always a tall order for a UFC champion. It is the nature of the beast. While it is not fair to say Bisping is exaggerating his injury, I can say with full confidence Bisping never embraced the idea of participating in such a tough fight once he learned of the GSP fight.

In lieu of Bisping defending his middleweight title, Yoel Romero will fight number three contender, Robert Whitaker, for the interim middleweight title. This fight will take place at UFC 213 and is a spectacular match up; an early favorite for fight of the night. Bisping is supposed to face the winner prior to facing GSP. It will be interesting to see what happens; it does not appear like Bisping will be able to avoid a tough fight before facing GSP. I wonder who The Count will be rooting for: Romero or Whitaker?

This circumstance speaks to the unique quality of the UFC. While it is never satisfying when a champion cannot defend their title, the UFC’s contingency plan for such a dire circumstance often results into stellar matchmaking. The nature of mixed martial arts is such that fighters are going to be put on the shelf due to injury, fights we anticipate are going to get cancelled, providing other opportunities for hungry fighters. Without the Bisping injury, Robert Whitaker might not have received a title fight until next year, now the sky is the limit for a fighter who was not even on the radar when Bisping upset Rockhold; not for title contention at least.

This time cannot be easy for Bisping. While he has done it all in the UFC, TUF winner, TUF coach, commentator, his mainstay has always been fighting inside the cage. How will The Count handle being sidelined for what promises to be a crackling Summer of mixed martial arts, and beyond? Over the years, we could always count on The Count being ready to fight, and we could always count of him being articulate, often snarky, in the analyzation of his peers. Who knows how long we will have to wait for the former, the latter, however, I suspect is right around the corner.

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