Five Reasons Michael Bisping’s Storybook Title Reign Won’t Last Long
Michael Bisping successfully defended his UFC middleweight title for the very first time at last weekend’s (October 8, 2016) UFC 204 from his home of Manchester, England, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Dan Henderson in a five-round war that left him battered and bloodied, albeit still the titleholder.
With his first title defense now in the rearview mirror, Bisping can look at what lies ahead, and it may only get tougher for him from here on out. The murderer’s row of the top four middleweight contenders (and we can’t forget Gegard Mousasi) will be competing next month to earn the next shot at divisional supremacy.
Let’s take a deeper look into five potential opponents for Bisping and why each top 185-pounder could spell the end of his feel-good reign as champion:
Chris Weidman
No. 2-ranked former champion Chris Weidman hasn’t competed since surrendering his title to Luke Rockhold at last December’s UFC 194, but he’s set to return to action at November 12’s UFC 205 from New York against No. 4-ranked Yoel Romero.
Weidman was actually scheduled to rematch Rockhold at June 4’s UFC 199, but he was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. Bisping stepped up on short notice and took out Rockhold to become the undisputed champion. With that being said, if Weidman can indeed get by Romero, a man who’s won seven straight UFC bouts, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him receive the next title shot.
In terms of how Bisping and Weidman stack up against each other, it would undoubtedly be an interesting clash from a stylistic standpoint.
Weidman has always been a tough and gritty wrestling-based fighter with powerful and ever-improving striking as well as strong submission skills. In my opinion, Bisping may hold the pure striking advantage in terms of combinations, movement, and footwork, although I’d give Weidman the advantage in the grappling department.
Bisping, however, has always had solid takedown defense, so keeping the fight on the feet against Weidman would be a crucial factor. To defend his title against the ex-champion, “The Count” would likely have to use his speed and angles to pick Weidman apart on the feet, while avoiding the New York native’s power. I simply don’t see him having much success if Weidman gets a hold of him.
Yoel Romero
Just like I see Weidman getting a title shot if he’s victorious at UFC 205, I see the same for the surging Yoel Romero, and I personally feel as if he would provide Bisping with a tougher test.
“Soldier of God” is a freakish athlete with explosive speed and devastating power. These traits paired with his Olympic wrestling pedigree have made him a force to be reckoned with in the 185-pound division. In fact, five of his seven UFC victories have come by way of stoppage.
With this fight, I feel as if Bisping would be at a serious size and power disadvantage. Romero’s ability to cover distance effortlessly and with great speed could also provide Bisping with issues, as avoiding not only big shots, but takedowns as well would be quite difficult.
“The Count,” however, has proved in recent memory that his heart, perseverance and drive can keep him in any fight. His cardio could also play a role in this potential fight, as he’d likely to try to drag Romero, a man who possesses a ton of muscle, into deep waters. Bisping is a tough man to put away, but he’d have to to play to his strengths and use an intelligent strategy to get by Romero.
Luke Rockhold
Former champion and No. 1-ranked contender Luke Rockhold is scheduled to rematch former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who currently sits at No. 3 in the division, at UFC Fight Night 101 on November 27, 2016.
Rockhold’s history with Bisping may put him towards the top of the list of potential title contenders if he once again beats “Jacare.”
After scoring a submission victory over “The Count” in 2014, Rockhold went on to beat Lyoto Machida and Weidman before suffering a shocking knockout loss to Bisping in their rematch last June. Also to note is the fact that Bisping accepted the rematch on extremely short notice.
In my opinion, Rockhold is simply a better fighter than Bisping. The former champion’s southpaw striking style is difficult to read along with his rangy frame. His cardio is typically on point, and his ground game is absolutely lethal.
With all of that being said, Bisping has proved that he can not only beat Rockhold, but that he can knock him out cold, something that may affect Rockhold mentally. In my opinion, Bisping would once again have to cut angles and target different areas to pick up another win over Rockhold.
Ronaldo Souza
Like many of the other potential opponents on this list, I feel as if Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza could possibly give Bisping problems due to his world-class grappling skill if the fight were to end up on the ground.
Now, to make matters clear, Bisping has only been submitted once throughout his lengthy career, but he competes in a division that features some of the sport’s best wrestlers and submission artists. That, along with the fact that Bisping tends to strike more often, leads me to believe that he could find difficulty against some of these grapplers.
“Jacare” has also improved his striking immensely in recent memory and it has resulted in him winning six of his seven UFC bouts to date with his only loss in that stretch being a controversial one against Romero.
“The Count” may be the faster man in this potential clash, and he’d have to use this to advantage, while doing whatever it takes to turn the fight into a striking battle.
Gegard Mousasi
No. 9-ranked Gegard Mousasi is likely a fight or two away from being near the top of the list of title contenders, but his recent win streak has undoubtedly placed him amongst the division’s elite. Like Bisping, “The Dreamcatcher” also competed at UFC 204, extending his win streak to three with a second-round finish over the legendary Vitor Belfort.
In terms of a stylistic matchup, this fight interests me quite a bit given the striking background of both men. Bisping incorporates boxing, kickboxing, and karate into his attack, while Mousasi relies on his decorated kickboxing background.
The “Dreamcatcher” likely holds the submission advantage, but I’d have to assume these two combatants would provide quite the exciting battle on the feet.
After all, they were scheduled to face off last February before Bisping was booked against Silva.
At the end of the day, I must admit that I’d have a somewhat hard time favoring Bisping in any of these bouts, but if there’s any man who could run through this list it’d be Bisping – a man who has built a Hall of Fame-caliber career by displaying incredible heart and unwillingness to lose.
“The Count” has consistently shown that he’ll give his blood, sweat and tears into the fight game, and he’ll have to continue to do this in order to keep the strap around his waist. He’s also, at least until recently, shown a tendency to fade in big fights, so losing his title to one of the five elite contenders above shouldn’t come as a surprise to many if it does indeed happen.
Do you think he’ll be able to run this gauntlet?
