"The man is an absolute legend" - Michael Bisping reveals the best UFC fighter to never win a belt
Michael Bisping has revealed his choice for the best UFC fighter to never win a championship in the world's biggest MMA promotion.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel on Thursday, Bisping claimed former PRIDE heavyweight titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is the greatest MMA star in UFC history to never become undisputed champion.
'The Count' called Nogueira an inspiration and added that it would have been nice to see him fight then-champion Randy Couture after claiming the interim title in February 2008. The Brazilian legend's trilogy with Fedor Emelianenko is considered one of the best ever:
"A guy that has inspired so many fighters across the world - I'm talking about Minotauro, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The man is an absolute legend. The BJJ black belt, coming from Brazil, carved his career out in PRIDE in Japan, came over to the UFC and had a great run there as well. But never became the UFC champ... He fought Fedor, (Mirko) Cro Cop, Bob Sapp... Came over to the UFC, fought Tim Sylvia for the interim belt, UFC 81 in Las Vegas and did become the interim champion. Now, it would have been nice to see him fight Randy Couture. They were supposed to fight but Randy was wrapped up in a contractual dispute. They did get to eventually fight and Minotauro won but the belt wasn't on the line, sadly! I remember watching him in PRIDE and just being absolutely blown away," said Bisping.
Watch Michael Bisping pick the top-10 greatest UFC fighters to have never won a title below:
Nogueira holds a 34-10-1-1 win-loss-draw-no contest record in his professional mixed martial arts career.
Michael Bisping defeated Luke Rockhold as a huge underdog in June 2016 to claim the middleweight belt
Michael Bisping could have himself found a spot on his own list had he not stepped in on short notice to replace the injured Chris Weidman at UFC 199 in Inglewood on June 4, 2016.
Luke Rockhold was defending his UFC middleweight championship in a rematch against Bisping. 'The Count' was a big betting underdog considering he had lost the first time via submission in November 2014.
However, it took 'The Count' just three minutes and 36 seconds to knock out Rockhold, silence the critics and become the first British UFC champ ever.
Watch Michael Bisping celebrate his middleweight title triumph at UFC 199 in California below:
#UFC199That moment you realise a dream and become the first British @ufc champion! Congratulations @bisping! 🇬🇧👏 #UFC199 https://t.co/GxvVphNRTd
Bisping made one successful title defense against Dan Henderson before dropping the belt to Georges St-Pierre.