Michael Bisping Wins Rolling Stone and FOX Sports Fighter of the Year
Michael Bisping was named “Fighter of the Year” by both Rolling Stone and FOX Sports on Tuesday evening, completing the amazing year of “The Count.”
When evaluating the amazing performances of 2016, the difference is that Michael Bisping wasn’t supposed to have the year he did. In fact, many felt that the time for “The Count” to win gold had come and gone. When Rolling Stone and FOX Sports announced that he was their Fighter of the Year, it was an acknowledgment of the circumstances he overcame to have an astounding 12 months that will define his career.
2014 saw disappointing losses to Tim Kennedy and Luke Rockhold and it appeared that at 35-years-old, Bisping’s time to be among the elite had passed. In 2015, he collected victories over less than noteworthy names in CB Dollaway and Thales Leites.
It wasn’t until February that Michael Bisping finally notched his first career-defining victory. In front of a packed London crowd, he defeated the legendary Anderson Silva in a fight that saw him nearly finished in the third round. It appeared to be the culmination of the tenacity and hard work he had displayed in his career, even if it never did culminate in a world title.
Then in June, an injury to Chris Weidman set the stage for the biggest fight of Bisping’s career. On just two weeks notice, he was set to finally compete for a UFC title against the man who had dominated him two years earlier in Rockhold. Few people expected what happened next, Bisping staggered Rockhold with a punch in the first round and was able to catch him again in quick succession. Bisping never looked back, finishing Rockhold and becoming the most unlikely champion of 2016.
After earning two of the biggest wins in his career, it was only fitting that he get the opportunity to avenge the loss that haunted him nearly seven years. In front of his hometown crowd in Manchester, England, “The Count” triumphed over Dan Henderson in a fight that nearly saw history repeat itself when Bisping was dropped by a crushing right hand.
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There are plenty of arguments to be made in what has been a headline worthy year. Conor McGregor made history by winning a world title in a second weight class. Cowboy Cerrone has looked fantastic in four fights at welterweight in the calendar year. Then there were headline-making stars like Amanda Nunes and Stipe Miocic who had benchmark years of their own.
But, there is something to be said for the number of fights and circumstances of Bisping’s year. McGregor impressed everyone in winning the lightweight title but just misses out on the top spot after falling to Nate Diaz in March, an opponent who had only 11 days to prepare. Cerrone may be the best he has ever been in 2016, but he did not have to dispatch a legend and a world champion in less than four months. Once again, the latter of which Bisping did on 14 days’ notice.
In January, Michael Bisping appeared to be closing in on a new career at the FOX Sports 1 desk rather than a title shot. Instead, he finishes an incredible year as world champion and is set for blockbuster fights in 2017. Middleweight contender Yoel Romero is up next at an undetermined date. Should the bout fall through, Jacare Souza and Luke Rockhold remain on the short list in equally tough fights for the Englishman.
Bisping’s 2016 campaign is a beautiful analogy for mixed martial arts: When the cage door closes, no matter the circumstances, anything can happen at any given time.
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