Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping jokes about deserving a knighthood in the UK
Throughout his MMA career, Michael Bisping had to fight hard and struggle to get the dues and the recognition he deserved inside the Octagon.
After winning the 3rd season of The Ultimate Fighter and through his subsequent career at middleweight, many believed that Bisping will be ‘the almost’ guy of the UFC.
However, ‘The Count’ could not be deterred and eventually struck championship gold, late in his career when he defeated Luke Rockhold to win the UFC middleweight strap.
He has now taken to Twitter to announce, in jest, that he deserves more recognition, especially from the British Royal Family.
Broadcaster Piers Morgan had earlier tweeted that Lewis Hamilton, who yesterday tied Michael Schumacher as the driver with most F-1 world championships, and former boxing heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, deserved to get knighted by the British monarchy.
Michael Bisping chimed in with a reply stating that he will be ‘expecting a letter from Her Majesty’ as he too deserved to be knighted for being the ‘first and only’ British UFC world champion.
While there has been no dearth of talent from Britain in the UFC, Michael Bisping is the only one who reached the pinnacle of the sport.
Fighters like Brad Pickett, Dan Hardy, and Ross Pearson have all carved out a legacy for themselves but their achievements are not quite up there with Bisping’s. Today's UK charge is led by the likes of Darren Till and Leon Edwards, both of whom are serious contenders in their respective divisions.
Michael Bisping won the UFC Middleweight Title in June 2016
While Bisping is now a member of the UFC broadcast team and lives in the US, he is and has always been a proud Brit.
After a string of impressive performances, Michael Bisping was included in the UFC title eliminator at UFC 100 where he suffered a devastating knockout at the hands of Dan Henderson.
While many believed it would be hard for a young Bisping to bounce back from the loss, he amassed wins over Jorge Rivera, Thales Leites and Anderson Silva and stepped in on short notice to fight Luke Rockhold for the title at UFC 199.
While Rockhold already had a submission win over Michael Bisping, the Brit would flip the script by knocking out the American in the first round in their rematch and finally getting his hands on UFC gold.