5 Things You Might Not Know About Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping spent 13-plus years pushing opponents’ buttons, honing his craft and capitalizing on opportunities that were presented to him during his stellar mixed martial arts career.

“The Count” compiled a 30-9 record with 20 finishes—six of his nine losses were to former Ultimate Fighting Championship or Pride Fighting Championships titleholders—and masked his weaknesses with an unwavering commitment to preparation, as he became one of the most accomplished competitors of all-time. Bisping was a pillar of consistency, suffering back-to-back defeats just once as a professional. The onetime middleweight champion announced his retirement on May 28, 2018, a little more than six months after suffering a knockout loss to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC Fight Night 122 main event.

With Bisping’s place in history long since secured, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He took a road less traveled.

Bisping was born on Feb. 28, 1979 on a British military base in Nicosia, Cyprus—an island nation of more than a million people in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

2. Early returns on his potential were positive.

“The Count” built a championship pedigree before he burst on the global scene by winning Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in 2006. Bisping captured titles in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, Cage Rage and FX 3 organizations within his first seven professional appearances.

3. Critics find his statistical evidence difficult to counter.

Bisping went 20-9 in the UFC and remains one of only nine fighters to reach the 20-win plateau inside the Octagon. Donald Cerrone (23), Demian Maia (22), Jim Miller (22), Andrei Arlovski (21), Georges St. Pierre (20), Jon Jones (20), Charles Oliveira (20) and Dustin Poirier (20) are the others. Bisping also ranks sixth on the promotion’s all-time list in significant strikes landed (1,567), ninth in appearances (29) and ninth in total fight time (6:05:33).

4. Staying power was not an issue.

As one of 11 men who have laid claim to the undisputed UFC middleweight crown, Bisping’s 518-day reign ranks as the fifth-longest in the history of the division. Only Anderson Silva (2,457), Chris Weidman (889), incumbent champion Israel Adesanya (860) and Robert Whittaker (660) have spent more time atop the 185-pound weight class. Bisping took the title by force with his stunning knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 on June 4, 2016, made one successful defense in a unanimous decision over Dan Henderson and then surrendering it in a technical submission loss to St. Pierre at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, 2017.

5. A keenly familiar face joined him in the sport’s pantheon.

Bisping was the fifth of seven current members inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s modern-era wing. He was enshrined on July 5, 2019, alongside the first man to ever defeat “The Ultimate Fighter 3” winner: former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, who eked out a contentious split decision against him in the UFC 78 main event.