Michael Bisping: The Man You Love to Hate
By Kevin Nelson
The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner has faced many challengers in the UFC and has proven himself as a contender. He is beloved in Great Britain and has many adoring fans; but just one problem when it comes to the fans in North America: they hate him.
Why is he so despised in one side of the world and so beloved on the other? We speculate on why he is both loved and hated and come up with several reasons why.
Why Michael Bisping is loved?
In no uncertain terms, British fight fans love fights whether it is boxing or mix martial arts. What has happened since Michael Bisping winning the Ultimate Fighter is an explosion of interest in MMA and several gyms opening.
What has also occurred is the UFC bringing their brand over to London, England, and introducing a whole lot of fans to the UFC experience. For that, the fans love him and the fact that he is bombastic and unapologetic with his trash talking of his opponents.
In 23 fights, he has 20 wins. So more often than not, Bisping has established himself as a title contender in the 185 pound division. As the face of British MMA, he carries the hope of a nation on his shoulders and carries it with intense pride and passion for his country.
Why is Michael Bisping hated?
What has made Michael Bisping hated in North America started through no fault of his own. After winning the Ultimate Fighter, he was and quite popular. That all changed when he fought Matt Hamill and most observers felt he lost even though the judges awarded him a decision.
That fight happened to be in London, England, and most fans thought if the fight had taken place in North America, that he would not have received a’ “hometown decision.”
It did not help matters that Bisping thought the decision was fair and that the idea of fighting Hamill again was not even a consideration. From there, his trash talking ways and tough guy persona attitude rubbed most fans here in North America the wrong way and most feel as though for someone to talk as tough as he does that he should fight that way.
Although 16 of his 20 wins he has been victorious by KO or submission, in most of his fights he relies on his footwork and speed instead of getting into toe to toe exchanges.
Bisping style is a conservative defensive minded style that is not exactly crowd pleasing. His personality is someone who is unapologetic and he genuinely believes that every loss he has had was a decision that he should have been rewarded (minus the Henderson fight in which he was clearly KO’d).
His trash talk of beloved American fighter Dan Henderson made the dislike for Bisping even more heightened.
Is Michael Bisping a true contender?
Let’s rattle off a list of opponents that he has faced; Akiyama, Leben, Miller, Silva, Henderson, Hamill, Evans, and Kang. Out of that list, he has lost to three (two of which are really light heavyweights in Henderson and Evans.
He is a true contender. His losses have been by close decision as has his wins. He has very good submission defense and his true strength is his ability to box on his toes and display very good ground and pound (ask Denis Kang).
Although he is both hated and liked with fans across the world one thing for sure with Michael Bisping is its good for business. As legendary baseball great Ty cobb would say: “Stadiums would fill across the league just to boo him.’’
The same goes with Bisping in Canada and the United States as fans go to watch him get knocked out. We buy the pay per view in hoping he loses. All in all it’s good for business and when it comes to hating him, business is good
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