Michael Bisping: Ready to drop the axe

Dent · **Posted:** Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:07 am

The date was November 14, 2009 and the opponent was Denis Kang. For Britain’s Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping, nine minutes with Kang was enough to transfer negative thoughts to positive ones and, crucially, restore every ounce of his crumbled confidence.

The one-and-a-half rounds shared with Kang encapsulated Bisping’s career, especially in recent times. Nervous and edgy from the outset, ‘The Count’ struggled to contain Kang on his feet and was even dropped by a right hand counterpunch. His mind flashed back to a crushing July 2009 defeat to Dan Henderson – the only knockout loss on the Brit’s 21-bout record.

Kang was a comeback opponent, but one deemed dangerous enough to prey on the demons circulating around Bisping’s head. The knockdown and subsequent attempt to finish seemed to cast the writing on the wall for Bisping.

However, midway through Kang’s ground-and-pound attempt, a strange thing happened – Bisping appeared to be enjoying himself. He seemed to relish the predicament and, after spending a couple of frantic moments beneath Kang’s assault, the brave Brit started to gain success of his own.

By the round’s end, Bisping pulled himself upright, broke a smile and fist pumped the air. Despite spending most of the round in a daze and on his back, Bisping had survived and even had the audacity to tie Kang up and land shots of his own.

More importantly, Bisping had not been knocked out. He got through the dreaded round one.

“Nobody wants to suffer back-to-back losses and I’m no different,” recalls Bisping, who lost in the first round to Henderson at UFC 100.

“I was annoyed by the Henderson loss and felt I performed terribly that night. Moving into the Denis Kang fight, I was incredibly nervous – more so than I’d ever been before – simply because I knew what was at stake.

“I wasn’t nervous about fighting Kang or his skills, but just nervous about what would happen if I suffered another loss. I didn’t want to be known as someone who lost two big fights back-to-back like that. It would have badly hurt my career.”

Bisping’s nerves were tangible on the night. Shaky and uncertain in the stand-up, Bisping wasn’t producing the same form he was renowned for in his early UFC bouts. A right hand to the chin acted as a swift wake-up call.

“I tried throwing a looping left hook at one stage and Kang caught me with a good right hand, which put me down,” remembers Michael. “I wanted to be aggressive from the start and really prove a point. That’s why I went out there a bit recklessly and threw a silly shot. In hindsight, it was too early in the fight to take a risk like that and I paid the price. Kang hit me with a solid shot and I went down.

“I wasn’t really hurt by the shot at all, but it was solid and it knocked me off my feet. I started thinking ‘Oh, no, not this again’ as I looked up at him. I wasn’t planning on getting knocked down against Kang, especially after getting put down against Henderson.”

Having faced the predicament head on and come out smiling, Bisping commenced round two with a renewed hope, vigour and self-belief. Rather than give Kang too much respect, Bisping roared out the gate and demanded some respect of his own. ‘The Count’ used his physical strength and explosiveness to drag Kang south and ground-and-pound the talented Canadian.

The tide quickly changed, the fans sensed it and, more importantly, Bisping and Kang felt it. Following a series of one-sided attacks, Kang was stopped in a crumpled heap with barely 30 seconds left to go in the round.

“I was delighted to be able to turn the fight on its head and stop Kang in the second round,” says Bisping.

“The first round against Kang was difficult, simply because I was feeling my way back into things. Training for a fight is one thing, but you can never tell how you will react on the night – especially coming off a knockout defeat.

“Despite the result, I know there’s still even more to come. I should have pulled the trigger in the stand-up more. I have got very good boxing and Thai-boxing but, for some reason, I don’t put it out there during my fights as I should. I want to start knocking opponents clean out in 2010. Stoppage wins and TKOs are all well and good, but I want to start racking up some one-punch finishes on my record.”

Confident talk of one-punch knockouts were absent from Bisping’s lips pre-Kang. He was only interested in victory – no matter how it arrived. Following the Henderson stunner, Bisping just needed a win.

He got that win last November. Now, with confidence restored, Bisping faces the ultimate test of one’s self-belief. At UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia, Bisping will confront the master of intimidation, Wanderlei Silva, over three rounds at middleweight.

”We were originally going to fight at UFC 105 in Manchester, but unfortunately the timing didn’t work out,” explains Bisping. “I agreed to the fight, but Wanderlei was in the process of having some facial surgery done and the November 14 date wouldn’t have allowed enough time for him to heal up properly.

“Thankfully, I got the victory against Denis Kang on November 14 and now we can do the Silva match-up again. It’s a fight that got me excited as soon as I was first offered it last year and I’m just as excited by it now.”

Having admitted he was nervous and anxious ahead of the Kang fight, one assumes it was almost a blessing in disguise that Wanderlei couldn’t make the November 14 trip. Always honest, Bisping concedes he may have had his hands full in any edgy first round with Silva.

“I was very nervous against Kang, and that’s not a good thing to be feeling when up against someone as fearsome as Silva,” says Bisping. “Kang is obviously a great fighter in his own right, but Silva brings something a little different to the table. He’s known as someone who installs fear into opponents mentally. He’s known as the guy with the fierce staredowns and someone who works on intimidation a lot. That’s not a good opponent for anyone struggling with nerves.

“You’ve got to go out and fight someone like Silva with maximum confidence. You can’t do anything halfway with him. Either you go out there and believe in yourself or you get knocked out quickly. He will prey on any sign of weakness or nerves. He’s been around in this sport for a long time and has had more fights than most people have had hot dinners. He knows what to look for. He can beat guys before the first bell even rings.”

Anyone that watches the Wanderlei Silva that ruled PRIDE for so many years is likely to be intimidated. Similarly, anyone who watches the Brazilian’s 36-second blitzing of Keith Jardine may start to get the shakes. However, littered amongst those devastating displays of destruction are a number of recent losses that Bisping can take heart from. Sure, even in defeat Wanderlei is a constant danger, yet one cannot gloss over UFC defeats to Rich Franklin, Quinton Jackson and Chuck Liddell.

“I believe it’s a very winnable fight for me,” admits Bisping. “I know Wanderlei’s a legend and has been around a long time, but I truly believe styles make fights and that I’ve got the perfect style to beat him. Obviously I’m going to have to be wary of his aggressive style and his punch power, but I’m very confident of going to Australia and beating Wanderlei. He’s experienced and possesses heavy hands but, other than that, I feel I’m way better than him. I know I have the ability to beat him – it’s now just about executing my game plan on the night.”

Bisping got his game plan disastrously wrong against Henderson, and so nearly repeated the trick in the opening round against Kang. However, he also showed an innate mental toughness and ability to switch to Plan B with Kang, and that’s something that should stand him in good stead against Silva.

“Stylistically, the fight may be similar to the one I had with Chris Leben in October 2008,” assesses Bisping vs KangBisping. “Leben was a tough, aggressive guy with some highlight reel knockouts on his record and he really brought the fight to me. He also throws similarly wild and looping punches to Wanderlei.

“I had to use my speed and straighter punches to beat Leben and the same thing may come into play with Wanderlei. I’d say Wanderlei is a bit quicker and more explosive than Leben overall. Obviously the game plans won’t be the same, but in terms of style there are definite similarities between the two of them. I’m not going to fight Wanderlei the way I did Leben, but I may draw on my fight with Leben to help me beat Wanderlei.”

While Bisping’s confidence may be restored, a Silva staredown may prove to be the final test of his post-Henderson rehabilitation. Whether that staredown moment comes before the fight – say, at the weigh-in or press conference – or whether it happens with seconds to go before they touch gloves, Bisping will stare into the eyes of Silva and react in one of two ways. He’ll either relish the battle ahead or invite self-doubt into his head.

“As far as achievements go, I’ve got nothing but the greatest respect for Wanderlei,” admits Michael. “He’s a legend and has had a fantastic career. Despite all that, I’m looking to beat him convincingly on February 21st (ed note – airing on February 20th in the US) and add another loss to his career record. All respect will go out the window when we stare across at each other in the Octagon.

“This is the kind of fight I want. When all is said and done and my career is over, I’ll be able to look back and say, ‘yeah, I fought the best in the world – I fought this legend, that legend, and so on’. Wanderlei is definitely one of those guys you can be proud of facing. It’s an honour to share the Octagon with someone of his stature.”

He’s seen the staredowns, he’s seen the knockouts and he’s aware of Silva’s reign of terror on PRIDE’s old middleweight division. Yet, despite everything, Bisping has always appeared to fancy this match-up. He liked it last November and he likes it even more now.

“Despite Wanderlei’s legendary reputation, I am not going to be overwhelmed in this fight,” claims Bisping. “I am not going to stand off and be in awe of Wanderlei. Yes, he’s a big-name in mixed martial arts and is one of the most recognisable figures in the sport. Yes, he also packs plenty of power in his fists. However, the way to beat Wanderlei is to go out there and show him no respect. ‘Rampage’ did exactly that and he blasted Wanderlei out of there inside a round. If you give Wanderlei too much respect, he’ll walk all over you and spit you out.

“I’m planning on one thing and one thing only and that’s going out to Australia and beating Wanderlei Silva. I’m not going out there for a holiday or to make up the numbers. This is the biggest fight of my life and I can’t accept anything but victory. I know what I’m up against and I know exactly what I have to do to beat him. I don’t take fights just for the pay check. That’s not what I’m about. I’m taking this fight because I know I can beat Silva and because I want to keep moving towards a UFC title shot.”

Bisping appears back to his brash and robust best. As far as confidence tests go, we’ll know all we need to know about ‘The Count’ at UFC 110 this weekend. When he stares directly into the eyes of ‘The Axe Murderer’, he’ll know, too.

Source: http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=75130

Michael Bisping: Ready to drop the axe

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