Diary entry 1: Michael Bisping gets fighting fit for UFC 110 fight vs Wanderlei Silva

Bron: www.dailytelegraph.com.au

BRITAIN'S most famous mixed martial artist – voted 'Coolest Man in the UK' ahead of Daniel 'James Bond' Craig and David Beckham – Michael 'the Count' Bisping fights UFC legend Wanderlei Silva in the co-main event of UFC 110 in Sydney, February 21. The show sold all 16,500 tickets within two hours, and appearing on the UFC’s first ever card Down Under is a career highlight for the 30-year-old Bisping, who is engaged to an Australian girl.
Before this fight, Bisping will take readers of The Daily Telegraph on his journey to getting fit and ready to fight in a set of exclusive weekly diary entries to UFC fans. Read his first entry below.
I'm sure a lot of blokes promise themselves they are not going to eat too much over Christmas but, unfortunately, it doesn't always work out the way you planned it. I'm getting ready for my fight at UFC 110 at the Acer Arena, Sydney on UFC 110 against Wanderlei Silva and just about managed to get through Christmas without bursting my jeans.
I obviously spent a lot of time with fiancée, Becky (who is an Aussie) and our kids over Christmas and there was a lot of junk food lying around. I tried my best to ignore it, but like most blokes on holiday, I failed. So I put on a bit of weight over the Christmas period, but I then started training for the fight on December 26. I had around 33lbs to lose, which may sound a lot but to fighters it really isn't.

The training started to really kick up a gear on Monday, January 4th. That was when the hard stuff began.
How hard? Well, I'm now getting up at around 6.30am every morning and am going out for four-mile runs. I then come back, have breakfast and go off to the gym at around 10.30am. I train a combination of wrestling and jiu-jitsu and then in the evenings I work on my striking. I do heavy sparring on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights and weights sessions two times a week. You name it - we do it.
I keep hearing how hot it is in Australia right now, but, well, in England we are having the worst winter in a generation. The English snow has been a bit of a pain in the backside, especially in terms of the running in the morning. I’ve had to think carefully about my running routes and do my best to avoid the icy patches on the roads. It’s very icy and treacherous in England right now and I have to be extra careful not to slip and hurt myself ahead of such an important fight. The other night it was minus 16 degrees in England and that's a world apart from what it's like in Australia right now.
It is like being on the set of 'March of the Penguins' in the UK right now although I think the conditions and temperature are character building. They make you ask yourself just how much you want it and how determined you are to train. I can do a good Rocky 4 impression now.
Overall, my training is very heavy going, but it needs to be at this stage in my career. There are no easy touches in the UFC and it's a necessity to prepare for every UFC fight as if it's a world title fight. I have a big fight on my plate in February and I'm very excited to be going over to Australia to have it.
Like I said, my fiancée is Australian and my children actually have Australian passports. Immediately after my win over Dennis Kang in Manchester two months ago, I made a point of going up to UFC President Dana White and pleading with him to get me on the UFC event in Australia. This is a really important occasion for me and an opportunity I've wanted for a long time. I'm just thankful that it's now happening and I've got a great opponent to go up against in Wanderlei Silva. My wish has come true.
Don't get me wrong, though, this is no holiday for me. I know I'm fighting a tough opponent. Wanderlei is a legend in the sport and has a very, very aggressive style and a massive punch.
I believe it's a very winnable fight for me, though. I know Wanderlei's a legend 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, 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…


* Michael will join Daily Telegraph readers in an exclusive live webchat when he arrives in Sydney before he takes on Wanderlei Silva. You can catch his diary entries every Tuesday.
Visit UFC.com and www.bisping.tv for more information on Michael Bisping ahead of his February 21 showdown with Silva at UFC 110.