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### Michael Bisping strengths were: **Cardio, striking, take down defense, nationality and luck. Let's break those down.**
Cardio
Some fighters after one round they are already done, Bisping wasn't one of them, I have never seen him tired in a fight, he was one of those very few fighters that could probably fight for even more than five rounds.
Striking
Nice combination, good movement but not enough power or speed to be a scary striker like Anthony Johnson or Vitor Belfort but still easily one of the best strikers in his division.
Take Down Defense
In the fight against Chael Sonnen, one of the best wrestlers in MMA, he showed amazing take down defense and not just in that fight, most fighters really had a hard time taking him down.
Nationality
As I said, I'll say it as it was. If it wasn't for his nationality he wouldn't have gotten that many opportunities and that much promotion. The UFC always wanted to enter new markets and Michael Bisping was the only good enough fighter (and a loudmouth) coming from England. If he were an American, no way he would have had that much attention (no I'm not a Trump supporter, lol).
Luck
Michael Bisping always cried about fighting people on steroids and losing the opportunity to fight for the title more than once because of it but hey there is no way to know if he would have won those fights or not. Personally I believe those would have been closer fights but I don't think he would have won anyway.
So why luck?
He won a title and defended it right? So, he got a title fight he didn't earn, the champion underestimated him and got embarrassingly knockout, sure, good job Bisping for getting it done but still...Then he defended his belt against someone who was nowhere near a title shot...So yeah I believe luck played a huge role in Bisping's career.
By the Numbers
Record: 30-9
Notable wins: Luke Rockhold, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Cung Le, Chris Leben, Brian Stann, Alan Belcher
Title bouts: 3 (2-1)
Years undefeated: 3 (2004-2007)
Winning streak: 14
Finishes: 20 (16 knockouts, 4 submissions)
In Short
A title contention gatekeeper with very few notable wins who will be in the history of this sport for years to come thanks to his luck.
Telling it how it is .... I like it ...
I view his career similar to how you do. I would add that he is a hard worker. Despite the unlikeliness of ever becoming champion he managed to do it through nothing short of luck ( as you pointed out ) and hard work. If I was to tell you that in 2012 Bisping would become the champion and also would beat Anderson Silvia and then go onto face GSP you would ( like any reasonable person would have ) laughed in my face.
Bisping was also on the lucky end of some decisions. The Matt Hamil fight comes to mind and there is at least one or two others where he got the home town advantage also.
All that being said I did think he deserved a title shot when Anderson was still the king of the division but he never did get one during that time period.
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But think about it, most MMA fighters are hardworking or they wouldn't be able to be on top on talent alone.
I don't think he did deserve a title shot back then because he never really defeated top 5 opponents, everytime he did fight top level guys he lost (Hendo, Wanderlei, Chael, Vitor...).
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While most are hard working some are harder working then others. For me Bisping stands out in this regard. There are Naturally athletic guys due to genetics, Bisping doesn't seem to be in that category. Which would make me believe he had to work harder to get his success then someone who was. I never seen Bisping out of shape / miss weight / fatigue early in a fight. I have seen plenty of others. He also has the most fights in UFC history.
While its true he lost everytime just when he was on the cusp of getting that title shot. I feel and I remember many others during that time felt he deserved the shot because of how many times made it to that point in his career.
Anderson beat just about everyone else and challengers that he hasn't already beat were getting hard to find. Bisping was a notable fighter with some top 10 wins. I remember many thought he deserved to fight Anderson next directly after his Sonnen loss as the fight was so close it could have went either way.
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Maybe but we can't really know that right?
About him getting a title shot during Silva's reign, when do you think he should have gotten the shot?
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We can make an educated guess by what we are shown .. . which is about all we can do unless we have inside information.
I think he deserved one directly before he faced Chael Sonnen and directly after he defeated Brian Stann. A case can be made that he deserved a shot directly after his loss to Chael Sonnen.
He was 8 - 2 in his last 10 before facing Sonnen. The winner of that match was gntd a title shot at Anderson. The fight was so close that many were divided on who actually won. Sonnen won and went on to face Anderson. A win over any 10 ten opponent afterwards should of had Bisping in line for a title shot.
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Other less deserving people got title shots in the UFC so I guess why not but I don't think he was deserving, in my book you gotta defeat at least one top 5 fighter to fight for the title and he has never done that and he didn't even have that many top 10 wins...
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Anderson pretty much cleaned out the division. There weren't many opponents to pick from. Bisping had a couple top 10 wins and some high profile fights.
Dan Miller / Akiyama / Rivera / Jason Miller / Very Close Loss to Sonnen / Brian Stan
Thats a decent run at the time and worthy of a title shot in a almost cleaned out division imo. That Sonnen fight was so close that its hard to hold the loss against him.
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Yeah, true it was cleaned out division so hard to argue against that...
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Anderson pretty much cleaned out the division. There weren't many opponents to pick from. Bisping had a couple top 10 wins and some high profile fights.
Dan Miller / Akiyama / Rivera / Jason Miller / Very Close Loss to Sonnen / Brian Stan
Thats a decent run at the time and worthy of a title shot in a almost cleaned out division imo. That Sonnen fight was so close that its hard to hold the loss against him.
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