Latest news with #Bisping
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Michael Bisping: Islam Makhachev's welterweight move 'might be a big mistake'
Michael Bisping isn't sure how well Islam Makhachev will handle the size difference at welterweight. Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) relinquished his UFC lightweight title for a move up to 170 pounds. He is expected to challenge Jack Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who dethroned Belal Muhammad to claim the welterweight title at UFC 315. Advertisement After seeing Makhachev struggle against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in their first fight at UFC 284, Bisping questions Makhachev's ability to physically deal with welterweights. Della Maddalena said Makhachev is too small for welterweight. "Yeah, it's the dream first title defense, pound-for-pound No. 1," Della Maddalena said of Makhachev in a recent interview with Eternal MMA. "Get him back for Volk. We saw what Volk did to him. I'm going to get him. He's too little; he's too little. I'm going to get him." Bisping agrees with Della Maddalena. "I think he's got a point," Bisping said on his "Believe You Me" podcast. "He's got a point because Volk, we all love Volk, what a guy, he's awesome, but if you've ever been around him, he's not a very big man. He is the man, but he's a smaller man. And that first fight with Islam, he gave him everything he could handle. Jack Della Maddalena is not a small 170 pounder." Advertisement Bisping concluded by making a bold statement about Makhachev, who's on a 15-fight winning streak, having notched a UFC lightweight record of four title defenses. "It might be a big mistake for Islam going up to 170," Bisping said. "It might be a bit of a stretch, but fair play to him. I respect it." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst: Islam Makhachev's move to 170 'might be a big mistake'
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Michael Bisping: Islam Makhachev's welterweight move 'might be a big mistake'
Michael Bisping isn't sure how well Islam Makhachev will handle the size difference at welterweight. Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) relinquished his UFC lightweight title for a move up to 170 pounds. He is expected to challenge Jack Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who dethroned Belal Muhammad to claim the welterweight title at UFC 315. After seeing Makhachev struggle against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in their first fight at UFC 284, Bisping questions Makhachev's ability to physically deal with welterweights. Della Maddalena said Makhachev is too small for welterweight. "Yeah, it's the dream first title defense, pound-for-pound No. 1," Della Maddalena said of Makhachev in a recent interview with Eternal MMA. "Get him back for Volk. We saw what Volk did to him. I'm going to get him. He's too little; he's too little. I'm going to get him." Bisping agrees with Della Maddalena. "I think he's got a point," Bisping said on his "Believe You Me" podcast. "He's got a point because Volk, we all love Volk, what a guy, he's awesome, but if you've ever been around him, he's not a very big man. He is the man, but he's a smaller man. And that first fight with Islam, he gave him everything he could handle. Jack Della Maddalena is not a small 170 pounder." Bisping concluded by making a bold statement about Makhachev, who's on a 15-fight winning streak, having notched a UFC lightweight record of four title defenses. "It might be a big mistake for Islam going up to 170," Bisping said. "It might be a bit of a stretch, but fair play to him. I respect it."
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UFC on ABC 8 video: Nazim Sadykhov elates Baku crowd with bloody KO of Nikolas Motta
Nazim Sadykhov brought a 13-fight decision streak in the UFC cage to a brutal end at UFC on ABC 8 when he knocked out Nikolas Motta. Azerbaijan's Sadykhov (11-1-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) sent the Baku crowd into a frenzy when, after a back-and-forth war for nearly two rounds, he blasted and dropped a bloodied Motta (15-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) for the TKO finish at the 4:17 mark of Round 2 at Baku Crystal Hall. Advertisement Check out the replay of the final sequence below (via X): After the fight, an elated Sadykhov, who remained unbeaten in his UFC career, sent a passionate message to his fans. "You're going to have to kill me if you want to put me away in Baku, Azerbaijan," Sadykhov said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. Between UFC on ESPN 69 in Atlanta a week ago and Saturday's event in Baku, the UFC saw 13 straight decision results until Sadykhov brought that dubious streak to an end. Up-to-the-minute UFC Baku results: This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Baku video: Nazim Sadykhov elates crowd with KO of Nikolas Motta
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Vitor Belfort's UFC Hall of Fame entry raises tricky questions — and for Michael Bisping, complicated feelings
Here's my first thought upon hearing that Vitor Belfort would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer: Wait, he's not already in the Hall of Fame? Right after that, my second thought was: Wonder what Michael Bisping thinks about this. Advertisement That's not sarcasm, just to be clear. It's an honest admission that, more than anyone else, Bisping has a right to feel some type of way about it. That's because back in 2013, when Belfort and Bisping clashed in the headliner of a UFC Fight Night event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Belfort landed a knockout kick that eventually cost Bisping his right eye. The kick was clean. Belfort? Not so much. As we suspected at the time, and later had confirmed in the most hilarious way possible, Belfort was juiced up with synthetic testosterone. We didn't necessarily need lab results to tell us this (though we did eventually get them). All we had to do was look at the action figure physique he'd suddenly sprouted in his mid-30s and then apply some basic math. Belfort, who'd already been busted by one drug test nearly a decade earlier, was far from the only one taking advantage of the MMA world's laissez-faire approach to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) at the time. Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson had helped stamp 'TRT' into the fight fan vocabulary, claiming they needed the hormonal boost due to their abnormally low testosterone levels. This was absurd, of course, but maybe we were living in an absurd time. Belfort simply took it to the next level by aggressively flunking the eye test while piling up highlight-reel finishes, which played a major role in eventually forcing the state athletic commissions to admit that the whole thing was too ridiculous to continue. Advertisement That's about when TRT was finally effectively ended in MMA, but it was shallow comfort to Bisping. Banning Belfort's supplement of choice didn't restore the vision in his right eye. There was arguably no one more harmed than Bisping by the TRT era in MMA. He fought and lost against at least three known users — Henderson, Sonnen, and Belfort — and suffered devastating knockouts in two of those fights. Since the Belfort loss cost him the most, at least physically, you might think Bisping would have some complicated feelings about enshrining the man in the UFC Hall of Fame. You'd be right about that. But only to a point. 'Was he a massive cheater? Of course,' Bisping told MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn recently. 'Did he take a lot of steroids? Of course. Were there a lot of other people doing that at the same time. Absolutely there was. So I was like, I get it. But then when I thought about it, I lost an eye because of this guy. I'm like, no, he can stick his Hall of Fame up his ass." Bisping then added: "But he does deserve it.' Advertisement This is where it gets tricky, for all the reasons Bisping just outlined. Just going by the official record, you have to admit Belfort had a great career. He burst onto the scene as a teenager in the wild west days of mid-'90s MMA, and was somehow still around — and very much in title contention — by the time the UFC had new ownership and a network television deal in the mid-2010s. Vitor Belfort knocked out Michael Bisping in an infamous 2013 bout in Brazil that ultimately cost Bisping his right eye. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (Josh Hedges via Getty Images) That right there is incredible all on its own. His UFC titles at heavyweight and light heavyweight also look good on paper, though they're arguably a lot less impressive under even the lightest scrutiny than the middleweight run that came later. Really, the only possible justification to keep a guy like Belfort out of the UFC Hall of Fame would be the doping stuff. And if you were doping in one or more of MMA's notorious doping eras (see also: the entire history of PRIDE Fighting Championships), how much can we hold it against you just for doing it less discreetly and more successfully than others? Advertisement Belfort lived many different lives across many different eras of this sport. He also inhabited several different bodies while doing it. You couldn't not notice this. He practically forced us to form some kind of opinion on it, one way or another. Usually fight fans get more forgiving of that stuff the further removed we are from it. While it's happening in the moment, sure, it's cheating and that's bad (especially when it's not your favorite fighter doing it). But give us a decade or so and we'll decide it was actually really fun to watch and we miss it. Bisping's missing eye makes that a little tougher to do in the case of Belfort. Professional fighting is the hurt game, as we know. There's not a doctor anywhere in the world who would tell you it's good for your health, and everyone who steps in the cage knows it comes with risks. Bisping could have easily lost that eye against a clean fighter. But he didn't. Should Belfort still get a place in the UFC Hall of Fame despite all that? I think so. But that doesn't mean we can't feel more than one way about it. And if you're Bisping, I don't think anyone would blame you if you skipped the induction ceremony entirely.
Daily Mirror
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Michael Bisping reacts as ex-rival who blinded him gets Hall of Fame induction
While the former middleweight champion believes his ex-foe is a 'cheater' - he insists he deserves all the plaudits following his UFC Hall of Fame induction Michael Bisping has stated that his ex-rival, Vitor Belfort, is deserving of his spot in the UFC Hall of Fame. The pair famously fought back in 2013 when the Brazilian fighter blinded Bisping with a head kick that detached his retina. The British fighter underwent surgery and now uses a prosthetic eye. Despite this setback, he went on to have a successful career in the ring, picking up the middleweight title in 2016 after defeating Luke Rockhold. Bisping retired in 2017 following consecutive losses to Georges St-Pierre and Kelvin Gastelum. With a professional record of 30-9, the 'Count' has victories over notable names such as Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Matt Hamill, Chris Leben and Dan Miller. Belfort's career was not without controversy, as he legally used testosterone-replacement therapy [TRT] throughout his time in the UFC. The former light-heavyweight champion was recently welcomed into the UFC Hall of Fame in recognition of his impressive achievements in the octagon. Upon hearing the news from UFC boss Dana White earlier this month, the 48-year-old was visibly moved and broke down in tears. Bisping still believes his rival is a 'cheat' when reacting to the reward - despite giving him some praise. 'When we were in Des Moines, Paul Felder had a little piece for the (video) package where we speak about the greatness of the people getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. They said, 'We won't ask you Mike, for obvious reasons.' I said, 'You know what? I don't care. I'll do it,'' he told MMA Junkie. He continued by acknowledging the fighter's achievements despite personal grievances: "When you look at it and remove all the emotions from it, the man was the UFC heavyweight champion of the world at 19. He then became the light heavyweight champion. He almost became the middleweight champion. He's the closest thing we've had to a three-weight champion. He added: "I lost an eye because of this guy. He can stick his Hall of Fame up his a**. But he does deserve it. You can't deny what he did inside the octagon. You just can't deny it. If that's not a Hall of Fame career, I don't know what is. Whether you like it or not, he deserves it.' Belfort, known for winning the light-heavyweight championship against Randy Couture in 2004, faced many big names during his MMA career, including Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Tito Ortiz, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Luke Rockhold, and Jon Jones. With a professional record of 26-14-1, he retired in 2018 following a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida.
