MICHAEL Bisping had the watching fans and media lapping up every word during a heated pre-fight press conference ahead of UFC 199 in Los Angeles.
And the man who pitched ‘The Count’ into the title fight says to expect a fired-up Brit when fight night rolls around.
UFC president Dana White chatted to SunSport immediately after the press conference and said Bisping’s title shot this weekend represents just reward for his stellar career in the UFC.
“He’s absolutely deserving,” he said.
“He’s been around forever. He’ll fight anybody, anywhere, any time. He always steps up. And he loves big fights.”
Bisping has long been a standard bearer for the UFC in the UK, but despite a career spent in the upper echelons of the UFC middleweight division a shot at the UFC title has always eluded him.
But now an injury to former champion Chris Weidman opened the door for the Brit to step in on two weeks’ notice and take on champion Luke Rockhold this weekend in LA.
And White explained that victory for Bisping could spark another spike in the growth of the sport of MMA here in the UK.
“Michael Bisping’s been carrying the UFC flag through the UK for many many years,” he said.
“If he could win this title it would be so huge in the UK.”
And White said that, despite the pre-fight odds pegging Bisping as a sizable underdog ahead of the bout, he expects the Brit to grab his opportunity with both hands and leave it all in the Octagon on Saturday night.
“You guys know. All the UK fans, you’ve been at Michael’s fights in Manchester and London and now this last Anderson Silva fight,” he said.
“Bisping comes to fight, man. He wanted to fight Anderson Silva so bad and look at what a great that fight was.
“He’s gonna go at it just like he said today – he’s gonna go all guns blazing tomorrow.
“He’s gonna do everything he can to win that title, I know it.
“It should be a great fight.”
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