Michael Bisping: the first British UFC champion | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

MICHAEL BISPING waited 10 years for a UFC title shot, took it on 17 days’ notice and won it in the first round. He was the first British fighter to hold a UFC title.

He also brought the UFC to a British audience. Four of his first nine UFC fights were in England, and ESPN called him the most influential fighter in English MMA.

Early life

He was born on 28 February 1979 on a British military base in Nicosia, Cyprus, and grew up in Clitheroe, Lancashire. His father was in the military and wanted him to take up sport. He began jiu-jitsu at eight and, according to UFC.com, competed in one of Britain’s early no-holds-barred events at 15.

Getting started

He left school at 16. In 2002 he worked weekdays at an upholstery factory in Sabden and DJed at weekends as “Mikey B”. He tried to join the British Army for paid training, but ESPN reports he was turned away over a legal history tied to street fights. He then quit the factory to train full time. His professional debut came on 10 April 2004, for Pride and Glory, a local promotion run by Ian Freeman. By the end of 2005 he was 10-0, with light heavyweight titles in Cage Warriors and Cage Rage. He trained with the Wolfslair team.

Career chapters

1. 2004Professional debut
2. 2006Wins The Ultimate Fighter 3
3. 2007First professional loss, to Rashad Evans
4. 2008Moves down to middleweight
5. 2013Eye injury against Vitor Belfort
6. 2016Beats Anderson Silva, then knocks out Luke Rockhold for the UFC title
7. 2017Loses the title to Georges St-Pierre and fights for the last time
8. 2019Inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame

The Ultimate Fighter 2006 to 2007

On the third season of The Ultimate Fighter he fought for Tito Ortiz’s, Who’s Who number 25 team, and on 24 June 2006 he stopped Josh Haynes in the second round to win the light heavyweight tournament. He won his next three UFC fights before Rashad Evans beat him on a split decision at UFC 78 on 17 November 2007, his first professional loss.

Middleweight contender 2008 to 2015

He made his middleweight debut at UFC 83 in April 2008. He coached against Dan Henderson, Who’s Who number 16 on The Ultimate Fighter 9, and at UFC 100 on 11 July 2009 Henderson knocked him out in the second round. Over the next six years he beat fighters including Chris Leben, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Brian Stann and Cung Le. A head kick from Vitor Belfort in January 2013 detached the retina in his right eye. He later lost the sight in that eye and kept it private through the last four years of his career. Rockhold submitted him in November 2014.

Champion 2016 to 2017

On 27 February 2016 at The O2 in London he beat Anderson Silva, Who’s Who number 13 on a unanimous decision, 48-47 on all three cards. Silva landed a flying knee as the third-round bell sounded, but Bisping dropped him with left hooks and won the Fight of the Night bonus. When Chris Weidman was injured, he took the UFC 199 title fight against Rockhold on 17 days’ notice as a +500 underdog. On 4 June 2016 at The Forum in Inglewood he knocked Rockhold out with a left hook and a right hand at 3:36 of the first round. At UFC 204 in Manchester that October he got up from two knockdowns to beat Henderson on a unanimous decision. On 4 November 2017 at Madison Square Garden Georges St-Pierre, Who’s Who number 21 submitted him in the third round. He held the title for 518 days. Three weeks later Kelvin Gastelum stopped him in the first round, in his last fight.

Retirement and the commentary box 2018 to 2026

He announced his retirement in May 2018, citing trouble in his good eye. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on 5 July 2019 in Las Vegas. He works as a UFC commentator and analyst, has co-hosted the Believe You Me podcast, and has acted in films including Den of Thieves and My Name Is Lenny. In 2026 he coached against Daniel Cormier on The Ultimate Fighter, and in April 2026 he told TMZ Sports he was “99% retired”.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

He fought from an orthodox stance as a technical kickboxer rather than a one-punch finisher. UFC.com described him picking opponents apart from the outside with jabs, combinations and kicks, then moving out of range, and said his stamina let him throw a lot of punches. At middleweight he could push forward more, since he was no longer the smaller man. In 2016 he said that when he worried about winning he became “overly aggressive and predictable”, and he worked on staying composed.

Teams and gyms

He came through the Wolfslair team in England, founded by Anthony McGann and Lee Gwynn. Later, in California, his head coach was Jason Parillo.

Stories people still tell

1. Two weeks’ notice.

   After winning the title he said, “Two weeks’ notice. Two days’ notice. Two hours’ notice.”

2. Mikey B.

   Before fighting full time he DJed at weekends under that name.

3. Song 2.

   He walked out to Blur’s “Song 2”, which became his trademark.

Legacy

UFC.com says he is the only winner of The Ultimate Fighter to become a UFC champion and defend the title. In 2008 Zoo magazine named him its Coolest British Man of the Year. He is married to Rebecca, and they have three children.