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STRONG: Michael Bisping's Last Chance Saloon Hits Macau At UFC Fight Night 48
Aug 15, 2014 - 8:30:58 PM STRONG: Michael Bisping's Last Chance Saloon Hits Macau At UFC Fight Night 48

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By: Tom Strong, MMATorch UK Contributor

Michael Bisping is the Marmite of the MMA community. You either love him or hate him, though you can't argue his record is a bad one at 24 wins with only six defeats.

Since hitting our screens back in 2006 as a loud mouth, brash Brit on The Ultimate Fighter 3, Bisping went on to back it all up by winning the light heavyweight finals. Winning TUF 3 would not only have a massive impact on his career, propelling him into the MMA world, it would also have a massive impact on the British fans, who would finally have someone to get behind, someone they could invest their time and money in.

Bisping was probably the main reason why I became such an avid fan of the sport. He was a fighter I could relate to, someone I wouldn't mind getting up at 3AM in the morning to watch. There was finally a fighter who brought butterflies in the pit of my stomach, and it hit every time he walked out to Blur's “Song 2.” The goosebumps, the nervousness, the anticipation of what might be, it all hit as soon as that song played.

It hasn't always been plain sailing being a Bisping fan, as he's never been too far away from controversy. Thankfully it's been inside the Octagon where he's done most of his talking. He's gotten himself within touching distance of a title shot numerous times, only to fall short at the crucial moment.

Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, they all stopped Bisping in his tracks as that title shot loomed. We could argue about the scoring against Silva and Sonnen where I consider him to be very unlucky, but when you leave the fight in the hands of the judges you are opening yourself up to poor decisions. We could also argue that three of the four mentioned were on TRT when they entered the Octagon. Still, the fact still remains, it's a loss on his record.

Bisping isn't getting any younger, and now at 35 he's at a time in career where it's all or nothing. After his defeat to Vitor Belfort, he got himself back to the win column by defeating Alan Belcher via technical decision. Unfortunately, his career had to be put back on hold due to an eye injury (detached retina) that kept him out of the Octagon for almost a year.

His return fight against Tim Kennedy was a real wake up call for Bisping; he just didn't have that zip, the normally great takedown defence wasn't there, his stamina was lacking, and most telling of all was the lack of motivation to get back up whilst on his back. Maybe it was ring rust, maybe he returned too soon, or maybe he's just in decline.

Is Bisping's upcoming fight against Cung Le his last chance saloon? Most certainly. This is a 'must win' fight for him. He knows anything but a win will almost certainly see the end of his title hopes, and more importantly the real possibility that this might be the end to his MMA career.

He'll really be up against it with Cung Le, who has eight knockout victories in his nine career MMA wins. He's currently on a two fight winning streak, though his last outing was back in November 2012, defeating Rich Franklin via devastating knockout inside the first round.

I truly believe the 'old' Bisping will be back and fully fit from his eye injury. Moving camps to train with the likes of Mark Munoz can only be a positive for him, and make him a better fighter. If he gets complacent or sloppy against the southpaw Le, though, he could well find himself seeing stars and pondering whether he still has a career inside the Octagon.

Maybe Bisping will always be the bridesmaid and never the bride, but it won't be for the lack of trying. Many fighters have earned title shots for much less than what he's achieved, and I hope before his career comes to a close, he gets the chance to fight for the belt. Whatever happens to Mike, he'll be able to look back on his career with immense pride on what he's accomplished, and the huge amount of fans he brought along for the roller coaster ride.

Let's hope the ride continues for a while longer, as I'm not ready to get off.


[Michael Bisping art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]