Michael Bisping’s place in UFC history is secure, as he was officially inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame in Las Vegas on Friday.
Las Vegas, NV — ‘The Count’ is officially in the UFC Hall of Fame. Michael Bisping’s lengthy UFC career culminated with a middleweight title win at UFC 199 in 2016, where the British pugilist knocked out Luke Rockhold in a surprise upset. Bisping took the fight on short notice, and earned revenge on the American who had defeated him two years earlier.
The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight winner also owns twenty wins in the UFC, making him one of the most successful fighters to ever compete in the promotion. Yet until that title win in his late 30s, it felt like Bisping might be an also-ran.
Now, he’s a Hall of Famer, in the modern era wing. He’s tied for second currently in the most UFC wins category. An Ultimate Fighter winner, and the best British fighter of all time.
Not too shabby. And while ‘The Count’ told Cageside Press that his enthusiasm for all the accolade is waning after all the media surrounding the Hall of Fame ceremony, he admits that “it’s amazing.”
“When I was a kid, all I cared about was being the best fighter in the world. Now to be honored by this organization and put in the Hall of Fame, I never thought that would have happened.”
“It means the world to me,” he added.
Asked about the moments that made him stronger and brought him to this point, Bisping, now retired, answered that “it probably started when I was a kid back at home, my mom and dad, my brothers kicking my ass every single day. They beat the sh*t out of me on a daily basis. Once you’ve been through that, fighting in the octagon, that’s a piece of cake.”
Of course, Bisping won’t be far from the promotion he reached the pinnacle of, as he he continues to work as an analyst for the UFC. But after being counted out for so many years, with his Hall of Fame nod, ‘The Count’ may have finally silenced his critics.
