marcelt
07-07-2009, 22:35
Michael Bisping: Finger on the trigger
By Elliot Worsell ([email protected])
A chirpy Brit with plenty of character and quotable lines, Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping (http://www.ufc.com/MichaelBisping) can usually wax lyrical on any subject and enjoy it. You don’t have to inspire him, you don’t have to prompt him – Bisping likes to talk and he realises the importance of getting his words out there. Even when he’s digging at prospective opponents, he thrives on the sense of danger and says everything with his tongue firmly pressed into his cheek.
Despite his penchant for talking, Bisping is close to breaking point on one particular subject – Dan Henderson (http://www.ufc.com/DanHenderson). It’s not that Bisping doesn’t want to talk about his July 11 opponent; it’s more that he doesn’t know what to say anymore.
“I’ve been preparing for this fight mentally and physically for the whole of 2009,” explains Bisping, who faces Henderson at UFC 100 in less than a week.
“In fact, I’ve been preparing for either Henderson or (Rich) Franklin since my last fight in October 2008. I knew I’d be fighting either one of those guys in my next fight and then had it narrowed down to one in January (when Henderson defeated Franklin by split decision).
“It has been a long time coming and I’m now glad that it’s just around the corner. I just can’t wait to get in there and do the job.”
Bisping’s mind and tongue are exhausted. Henderson has been on the brain for the best part of a year. While this process has allowed intense focus on the job in hand and priceless preparation time, it also has its mental drawbacks.
“I try to fight the way I always fight, but the length of this preparation has undoubtedly affected me,” admits ‘The Count’. “I know Dan a lot better than I knew any of my previous opponents and he’s been on my mind for the best part of eight or nine months. That’s a long time.
“I’m pretty much sick and tired of Dan Henderson at this point. I hate thinking about him. I can’t wait to just erase him from my memory.
“He’s the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and he’s the last thing I think of when I go to sleep at night. I’ve been living and breathing this fight for the last nine months and just can’t wait to get it all over and done with.”
This isn’t your usual case of wound up fighter getting annoyed with opponent in the edgy days and weeks leading up to their highly anticipated fight. No, this is something much more. After all, middleweight contenders Bisping and Henderson shared coaching duties on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter, a show that indirectly promotes a muggy, close-knit, tension-building atmosphere.
Although Henderson and Bisping weren’t cooped up in the TUF house together, they felt each other’s presence at all times.
“I wasn’t bothered by Henderson at the time,” says the 30-year-old Bisping. “It didn’t bother me to spend time with him and I actually didn’t mind the guy too much. He was boring and had nothing to say a lot of the time, but he seemed pretty harmless. It was only when I watched the show back that I started to get annoyed by some of his comments. Now I just want to get in there and fight him.
“It’s got a little personal now, to be honest. He’s pissed me off with a few of the comments he’s been making. I’m really looking forward to getting in there and shutting his boring mouth up.”
As with any successful television programme, Bisping and Henderson were cast for reasons beyond their fighting abilities. Let’s face it; you couldn’t get two more contrasting figures.
If it were a Western shootout, Henderson would carry the strong-but-silent shuffle of The Man With No Name or Harmonica and Bisping would be Tuco or Cheyenne – excitable, proud, amusing and lethal with a water bottle.
“I just acted the way I always do on the show,” says the Lancashire favourite. “I didn’t try to be more entertaining to compensate for Dan. Dan just bored the hell out of me every time he opened his mouth.”
There’s the b-word again, something that Bisping has levelled at Henderson a few times in the weeks since the show. When asked to break down the walls of his next opponent, Bisping often feels like an amateur art critic being asked to explain the intricacies of a blank canvas at the Tate Modern.
“I couldn’t read anything at all into Dan while on the show,” concedes Bisping. “He doesn’t talk much at the best of times and I got absolutely nothing from him. Let’s get it right – he’s boring.
“Thank God he’s more exciting when he steps into the Octagon and fights. I have maximum respect for Dan as a fighter but, let’s be honest, he isn’t the most fun guy to be around.”
Henderson would argue that fighting isn’t about how much you talk but how hard you can hit. He’d be right. After all, who is going to argue with a two-time PRIDE champion and a former Olympic wrestler? Henderson has achieved more than most could dream of in his accomplished fighting life. A lack of sound bites hasn’t hurt Henderson’s ability to toss people to the ground or knock them clean out with booming right hands.
“The guy’s incredibly tough and he’s a legend in the sport,” admits Bisping, 18-1 in his mixed martial arts career.
“He’s known for his big right hand but, to be honest, so long as I avoid that shot for the duration of the fight I don’t see anything else that Dan can do to me. Yes, he’s very, very strong and is a good wrestler, but I’m pretty confident I’ll be getting straight back up if he takes me down.
“I’ve just got to watch out for that big shot. Take that away and I don’t see many ways I can lose. He isn’t going to submit me and I don’t believe he’s going to knock me out. I’ve got to be wary of him taking me down and controlling me for three rounds, but I’m confident that won’t happen, either.”
Bisping’s unwavering confidence is to be expected. While he may not boast the sheer depth of experience that Henderson boasts, Bisping is undefeated as a middleweight and has motored through a flurry of fringe contenders with shocking ease. His only loss was a split decision verdict to light heavyweight Rashad Evans in November 2007 - a result that gets better with age.
Nobody has yet to dominate Bisping, let alone think about stopping or submitting him.
“Of course I’m expecting a tough fight, but I’ve never been finished or knocked out and I don’t see Henderson being the first guy to do either,” says Bisping.
“I’ve worked on my takedown defence, my clinch defence and my Greco-Roman wrestling. I’ve been given plenty of time to formulate a strategy for Henderson, so I’m expecting to have all bases covered on the night.
“He’s nearly 39 years of age and I’m 30. He’s going to feel that age in the fight and I’m going to make him feel like an old man. He won’t be able to stick with the pace I’m going to set.”
As well as winning PRIDE belts at middleweight and welterweight, Henderson, 24-7, has also challenged for the UFC’s middleweight and light heavyweight championships. There isn’t a guy within the range of 180-pounds to 205-pounds that Henderson hasn’t fought or trained with. Bisping hasn’t found it difficult to unlock the Henderson vault for footage, though he admits he’s no Henderson super-fan. http://m1.2mdn.net/viewad/1923042/ufcfanexpo_300x250_seminars_v2.jpg (http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/3863/0/0/%2a/d;214469687;0-0;0;29167648;4307-300/250;32402729/32420605/1;;~sscs=%3fhttp://www.ufcfanexpo.com)
“I used to watch a little bit of Dan back when he was in PRIDE,” says Bisping.
“I enjoy MMA and I’m a big fan of the sport now – I’m obsessed with it now – but I wasn’t one of these fighters who used to watch tons of PRIDE fighters and get all excited when they made their way to the ring. I didn’t follow MMA like that.
“I got into MMA for my own reasons and it wasn’t because I was a particularly big fan of it. I got into MMA simply because I knew I’d be good at it and because it was a way to provide for my family.
“So, yes, I watched Dan a little bit, but not as much as I’ve been watching him recently. I’d be lying if I said I was some big Dan Henderson fan who used to follow all his PRIDE fights. It was never like that.”
Having wrestled with Henderson in his mind for the past nine months, Bisping will now attempt to do it for real on July 11 at UFC 100. He’s watched the tapes, spent time with Dan in a pressure-cooker environment and described his next opponent with all the flair of a reluctant art connoisseur.
Now the talking will stop and he must fight him. That’s music to the ears of Bisping.
“Dan’s definitely the toughest opponent of my career on paper, but let’s see what happens on July 11,” says Bisping. “I can’t wait to go out there and shock the world by knocking Dan out.
“I respect Dan immensely for what he has achieved in this sport, but now is my time to show what I can do. He’s had his shot at the big time. Coming into the UFC Dan has had two title shots and has blown them both. I believe now is my time and I truly believe I will beat him on July 11.”
The beauty of a Western shootout is that only the noise of the wind, the swing doors, the draw and the gunfire are heard. The time for talking is over. Nothing more needs to be said. One man wins, the other loses. Both gunslingers know the score. Whoever is quickest to the draw walks away with their life intact.
When they pass through the swing doors into the dusty tracks on July 11, Bisping and Henderson will silently and swiftly draw from their holster, united by a common bond and more alike than they think.
Share (http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250) |
By Elliot Worsell ([email protected])
A chirpy Brit with plenty of character and quotable lines, Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping (http://www.ufc.com/MichaelBisping) can usually wax lyrical on any subject and enjoy it. You don’t have to inspire him, you don’t have to prompt him – Bisping likes to talk and he realises the importance of getting his words out there. Even when he’s digging at prospective opponents, he thrives on the sense of danger and says everything with his tongue firmly pressed into his cheek.
Despite his penchant for talking, Bisping is close to breaking point on one particular subject – Dan Henderson (http://www.ufc.com/DanHenderson). It’s not that Bisping doesn’t want to talk about his July 11 opponent; it’s more that he doesn’t know what to say anymore.
“I’ve been preparing for this fight mentally and physically for the whole of 2009,” explains Bisping, who faces Henderson at UFC 100 in less than a week.
“In fact, I’ve been preparing for either Henderson or (Rich) Franklin since my last fight in October 2008. I knew I’d be fighting either one of those guys in my next fight and then had it narrowed down to one in January (when Henderson defeated Franklin by split decision).
“It has been a long time coming and I’m now glad that it’s just around the corner. I just can’t wait to get in there and do the job.”
Bisping’s mind and tongue are exhausted. Henderson has been on the brain for the best part of a year. While this process has allowed intense focus on the job in hand and priceless preparation time, it also has its mental drawbacks.
“I try to fight the way I always fight, but the length of this preparation has undoubtedly affected me,” admits ‘The Count’. “I know Dan a lot better than I knew any of my previous opponents and he’s been on my mind for the best part of eight or nine months. That’s a long time.
“I’m pretty much sick and tired of Dan Henderson at this point. I hate thinking about him. I can’t wait to just erase him from my memory.
“He’s the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and he’s the last thing I think of when I go to sleep at night. I’ve been living and breathing this fight for the last nine months and just can’t wait to get it all over and done with.”
This isn’t your usual case of wound up fighter getting annoyed with opponent in the edgy days and weeks leading up to their highly anticipated fight. No, this is something much more. After all, middleweight contenders Bisping and Henderson shared coaching duties on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter, a show that indirectly promotes a muggy, close-knit, tension-building atmosphere.
Although Henderson and Bisping weren’t cooped up in the TUF house together, they felt each other’s presence at all times.
“I wasn’t bothered by Henderson at the time,” says the 30-year-old Bisping. “It didn’t bother me to spend time with him and I actually didn’t mind the guy too much. He was boring and had nothing to say a lot of the time, but he seemed pretty harmless. It was only when I watched the show back that I started to get annoyed by some of his comments. Now I just want to get in there and fight him.
“It’s got a little personal now, to be honest. He’s pissed me off with a few of the comments he’s been making. I’m really looking forward to getting in there and shutting his boring mouth up.”
As with any successful television programme, Bisping and Henderson were cast for reasons beyond their fighting abilities. Let’s face it; you couldn’t get two more contrasting figures.
If it were a Western shootout, Henderson would carry the strong-but-silent shuffle of The Man With No Name or Harmonica and Bisping would be Tuco or Cheyenne – excitable, proud, amusing and lethal with a water bottle.
“I just acted the way I always do on the show,” says the Lancashire favourite. “I didn’t try to be more entertaining to compensate for Dan. Dan just bored the hell out of me every time he opened his mouth.”
There’s the b-word again, something that Bisping has levelled at Henderson a few times in the weeks since the show. When asked to break down the walls of his next opponent, Bisping often feels like an amateur art critic being asked to explain the intricacies of a blank canvas at the Tate Modern.
“I couldn’t read anything at all into Dan while on the show,” concedes Bisping. “He doesn’t talk much at the best of times and I got absolutely nothing from him. Let’s get it right – he’s boring.
“Thank God he’s more exciting when he steps into the Octagon and fights. I have maximum respect for Dan as a fighter but, let’s be honest, he isn’t the most fun guy to be around.”
Henderson would argue that fighting isn’t about how much you talk but how hard you can hit. He’d be right. After all, who is going to argue with a two-time PRIDE champion and a former Olympic wrestler? Henderson has achieved more than most could dream of in his accomplished fighting life. A lack of sound bites hasn’t hurt Henderson’s ability to toss people to the ground or knock them clean out with booming right hands.
“The guy’s incredibly tough and he’s a legend in the sport,” admits Bisping, 18-1 in his mixed martial arts career.
“He’s known for his big right hand but, to be honest, so long as I avoid that shot for the duration of the fight I don’t see anything else that Dan can do to me. Yes, he’s very, very strong and is a good wrestler, but I’m pretty confident I’ll be getting straight back up if he takes me down.
“I’ve just got to watch out for that big shot. Take that away and I don’t see many ways I can lose. He isn’t going to submit me and I don’t believe he’s going to knock me out. I’ve got to be wary of him taking me down and controlling me for three rounds, but I’m confident that won’t happen, either.”
Bisping’s unwavering confidence is to be expected. While he may not boast the sheer depth of experience that Henderson boasts, Bisping is undefeated as a middleweight and has motored through a flurry of fringe contenders with shocking ease. His only loss was a split decision verdict to light heavyweight Rashad Evans in November 2007 - a result that gets better with age.
Nobody has yet to dominate Bisping, let alone think about stopping or submitting him.
“Of course I’m expecting a tough fight, but I’ve never been finished or knocked out and I don’t see Henderson being the first guy to do either,” says Bisping.
“I’ve worked on my takedown defence, my clinch defence and my Greco-Roman wrestling. I’ve been given plenty of time to formulate a strategy for Henderson, so I’m expecting to have all bases covered on the night.
“He’s nearly 39 years of age and I’m 30. He’s going to feel that age in the fight and I’m going to make him feel like an old man. He won’t be able to stick with the pace I’m going to set.”
As well as winning PRIDE belts at middleweight and welterweight, Henderson, 24-7, has also challenged for the UFC’s middleweight and light heavyweight championships. There isn’t a guy within the range of 180-pounds to 205-pounds that Henderson hasn’t fought or trained with. Bisping hasn’t found it difficult to unlock the Henderson vault for footage, though he admits he’s no Henderson super-fan. http://m1.2mdn.net/viewad/1923042/ufcfanexpo_300x250_seminars_v2.jpg (http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/3863/0/0/%2a/d;214469687;0-0;0;29167648;4307-300/250;32402729/32420605/1;;~sscs=%3fhttp://www.ufcfanexpo.com)
“I used to watch a little bit of Dan back when he was in PRIDE,” says Bisping.
“I enjoy MMA and I’m a big fan of the sport now – I’m obsessed with it now – but I wasn’t one of these fighters who used to watch tons of PRIDE fighters and get all excited when they made their way to the ring. I didn’t follow MMA like that.
“I got into MMA for my own reasons and it wasn’t because I was a particularly big fan of it. I got into MMA simply because I knew I’d be good at it and because it was a way to provide for my family.
“So, yes, I watched Dan a little bit, but not as much as I’ve been watching him recently. I’d be lying if I said I was some big Dan Henderson fan who used to follow all his PRIDE fights. It was never like that.”
Having wrestled with Henderson in his mind for the past nine months, Bisping will now attempt to do it for real on July 11 at UFC 100. He’s watched the tapes, spent time with Dan in a pressure-cooker environment and described his next opponent with all the flair of a reluctant art connoisseur.
Now the talking will stop and he must fight him. That’s music to the ears of Bisping.
“Dan’s definitely the toughest opponent of my career on paper, but let’s see what happens on July 11,” says Bisping. “I can’t wait to go out there and shock the world by knocking Dan out.
“I respect Dan immensely for what he has achieved in this sport, but now is my time to show what I can do. He’s had his shot at the big time. Coming into the UFC Dan has had two title shots and has blown them both. I believe now is my time and I truly believe I will beat him on July 11.”
The beauty of a Western shootout is that only the noise of the wind, the swing doors, the draw and the gunfire are heard. The time for talking is over. Nothing more needs to be said. One man wins, the other loses. Both gunslingers know the score. Whoever is quickest to the draw walks away with their life intact.
When they pass through the swing doors into the dusty tracks on July 11, Bisping and Henderson will silently and swiftly draw from their holster, united by a common bond and more alike than they think.
Share (http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250) |