"They were on the verge of going bankrupt" - Michael Bisping names fight that "saved" the UFC
Michael Bisping recently recalled how the light heavyweight fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar in The Ultimate Fighter season 1 saved the UFC from bankruptcy.
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which debuted in January 2005, was the UFC's first television show. The show introduced the UFC and it's potential fighters to the general public for the first time.
The show's finale was a light heavyweight fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. It was a true classic that changed the way people viewed MMA in worldwide, especially in the United States of America.
#ThrowbackThursdayThe most important fight in UFC history 👏
15 years ago today, Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar went to war in the TUF Season 1 Finale 🔥 #ThrowbackThursday https://t.co/YaYyo0ejuf
Speaking about how the fight saved the promotion, the 43-year-old said:
"That fight with Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar...that's part of the reason why the UFC... It sounds weird to say why it's so but that's kind of what saved it. I mean, they were on the verge of going bankrupt... They were their Trojan horses Dana White put."
Bisping added:
"It was the Ultimate Fighter. This was a way of getting the UFC into people's homes on TV. They deemed the actual sport itself at the time too violent. But by wrapping it up in the Ultimate Fighter, Wrapping it up in a reality TV, made it a little bit more palatable... A bit more acceptable to be on the mainstream TV. "
The Hall of Famer also claimed that the fight between Griffin and Bonnar altered people's perceptions of the sport and they started regarding the fighters as "real people" rather than "Barbarians."
You can check out the latest episode of Michael Bisping Channel below:
Michael Bisping believes that fighters should stop cutting weight
While appearing on a recent episode of the Believe You Me podcast, Michael Bisping argued that UFC fighters should stop cutting weight. He believes that fighters should instead move up a division.
Bisping's comments came in view of the recent claims by UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson. The American claimed he might make a return to welterweight as he feels too skinny at 155 lbs.
Putting forth his argument on the matter, the former UFC middleweight champion had this to say:
"You know what it's like when you weigh in, covered in the f*cking sweet sweat and everything. So, I was in the shower, I walked past a full-length mirror and I caught my reflection and I stopped and I looked, 'Look at the state of you, you skinny emaciated f*cking,' I looked ill, I looked sick. So, I understand Tony's point. Making 155, he's killing himself. Hey, who knows? Maybe 170 could be in the future."
He also advised fighters to move up a division instead of losing weight:
"Everybody needs to be done with it. 155-ers should fight at 170. 85-ers at 205, we all just move up a weight class. Honestly, it's crazy what we are doing."
You can check out the entire episode of the Michael Bisping podcast in the video below: