Bio

Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (born February 28, 1979) is an English mixed martial artist born in Cyprus but living in Clitheroe, Lancashire. He currently fights as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion, former Cage Rage light heavyweight champion and The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner. Bisping is currently ranked the #10 best middleweight in the world by online MMA sources.

Bisping made his professional mixed martial arts debut at Pride & Glory 2: Battle of the Ages on April 4, 2004, taking a 0:38 rear naked choke victory over Steve Mathews. Just one month later, Bisping scored his first knockout against John Weir at UK MMA Challenge 7: Rage & Fury. In his third MMA match, Bisping became the Cage Rage light heavyweight champion at Cage Rage 7, defeating Mark Epstein by technical knockout. Bisping went on to defend his championship title in a rematch against Epstein at Cage Rage 9 in a knockout victory that solidified Bisping as one of the top light heavyweight fighters in England. It also earned him the moniker “The Great British Hope”, by UFC.com.

In early 2006 Bisping was featured on the UFCs The Ultimate Fighter reality television series as a contestant training under Tito Ortiz. He won a preliminary bout against Kristian Rothaermel by TKO, followed by a semi-final win against Ross Pointon by submission after landing a flying knee and a series of strikes. In the finals, Bisping defeated Josh Haynes by TKO at 4:14 into the second round, making Bisping the second Light Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter television series.

Five months after his victory in the TUF 3 finals, Bisping was slated to fight Eric Schafer at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale, but withdrew because of problems acquiring his visa. The fight was re-scheduled and held on December 30 at UFC 66. Bisping defeated Schafer by TKO at 4:24 in the first round.

Since the start of his MMA career, people had been advising Bisping that he was a little too small for light heavyweight and would do better at middleweight, and after his loss to Rashad Evans, Bisping decided to drop down a weight division, with Dana White’s support. On April 19, 2008 at UFC 83, Bisping made his debut as a Middleweight against Charles McCarthy who had a rather lackluster record in MMA. Bisping won by TKO, as McCarthy was unable to continue after the first round due to a forearm injury he sustained after receiving an unanswered series of knees and uppercuts from Bisping

Skill Breakdown