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[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: I've had people write me off constantly.
Constantly throughout my career, saying I wasn't good
enough, wasn't strong enough, just wasn't skilled enough.
ARIEL: Bisping has reached his plateau.
Your career is not going in the right direction any more.
MICHAEL: And all these fucking journalists and all these
people that wrote me off and talked shit about me after
what I've been through?
Go fuck yourself.
They don't know my journey.
They don't know what I'm capable of.
They don't know my mindset.
They don't know how mentally tough I am.
VIN: You forget how much he's had to sacrifice to get to
where he's gotten.
DANA: Bisping is a fighter.
He doesn't care who you are, how tough you think you are,
how tough you really are.
If you think you're better than him, you think you can
beat him?
Bisping's down to find out.
This is what he was born to do.
MICHAEL: There isn't anything after.
There isn't a back-up plan, because if this doesn't work,
if this doesn't pan out, I'm fucked.
I've got nothing.
[♪♪♪]
[applause]
MICHAEL: When I was younger, I never really thought
about the future.
Didn't care about anything.
All I wanted to do was have a good time.
That all changed once my family came along.
Fortunately, the same things that got me in trouble as a
kid - well, they would set me up for a life that I had never
thought possible.
[♪♪♪]
MAN: Almeida's here.
MICHAEL: Quick.
MAN: It happens.
One picture and that's it.
One picture.
MICHAEL: Alright.
I gotta go.
MAN: [indistinct]
MICHAEL: Sorry, guys.
MICHAEL: Back home in England as an analyst for the UFC.
The UFC never told me that they'd be announcing my
induction into the Hall of Fame.
I was under the impression that I was just going to say,
"Hello," and wave to a few of the home town fans.
MICHAEL: I'm hoping that I get a good reception,
but you never know.
They might be, "Ugh".
You know.
Little golf clap.
[clapping]
You know.
[laughing]
MICHAEL: Ah yeah.
Or are like, "Listen, mate.
You retired.
Fuck off.
We don't care any more".
You know?
[applause]
MICHAEL: Thank you.
[applause]
MICHAEL: There's our moment, Adkins.
MICHAEL: Oh shit.
Wow.
JON: There's only one Michael Bisping, and there
is never going to be another.
DANA: Look how long he lasted in the UFC.
It's tough to win a world title, and he's done it all.
DANIEL: And Michael Bisping truly deserves to be in the
UFC Hall of Fame.
[applause]
MICHAEL: As a Hall of Fame...
MAN: Yeah.
MICHAEL: I'm in the Hall of Fame?
MAN: You're getting inducted into the Hall of Fame.
MICHAEL: Thanks.
Goodnight, guys.
MAN: Selfie!
MICHAEL: Yes.
Alright.
MAN: [indistinct]
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: I was raised in Clitheroe.
You know, England.
Bangers and mash.
Sticky toffee pudding.
England.
You know, growing up as a young lad in the Northwest
of England, well, it had its ups and its downs.
MARGARET: The Iron Lady of the Western world.
MICHAEL: Put it this way, there was a lot going on
culturally in England in the 90s.
REPORTER: Negotiations to end the siege-.
REPORTER: Strangeways jail in Manchester is said to have
reached a critical point.
REPORTER: Tonight, we look at the growing concern over acid
house parties, which attract thousands of young people
in the region.
MICHAEL: Every weekend, there'd be a news report about
an illegal rave happening somewhere in the
Northwest of England.
[♪♪♪]
REPORTER: The police view is that these are purely
criminal events.
REPORTER: They promised that within a month these parties
will be history.
MICHAEL: And of course, the world was shocked about the
tragedy, breaking news of Princess Diana.
REPORTER: Now there is confirmation that Diana,
Princess of Wales, has died in that car accident in Paris.
NOEL: You know, growing up in the UK, especially at times
when, like, I grew up when Mikey grew up.
You know, it wasn't easy.
Working class areas.
Most people come from humble beginnings.
The rich people is a very small percentage.
MICHAEL: A lot of towns in the north of England and
throughout England, you know.
Great places to live, but not a lot of opportunity there.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: This is my mum, Kathleen.
She's from Ireland.
A tough lady that had a hard life.
This is Jan, my Dad.
He ran the house.
A no-nonsense father that used to be a sniper in the
British Army.
MICHAEL: And this was our house.
That was my bedroom, up there.
And there was 8, 8 of us here.
This is a 4-bedroom house, you know, so my mom and dad in one
room, and then two kids each in the other 3.
SHIREEN: It was just a very busy household, and we didn't
have a lot of money, so I think there was stress
with that.
JAN: Well, it's not easy being a parent, and especially when
you got 5-6 children, 'cause you're trying to do your
best with all of 'em.
SHIREEN: He had to retire from the army a lot sooner than
he wanted to due to injury.
My mom didn't work.
She was a stay at home mom.
MICHAEL: You know, to be honest, I mean, yeah, you know,
money was tight, but I never remember it being tough,
you know.
It was just the way it was.
JAN: Michael was the youngest of 3 boys at the time,
and he was always competing against his older brothers.
You know, even at Christmas, you know, how much was spent
on Christmas presents for his older brother.
And Michael would then price everything he had got for
Christmas and say, "Well, next year, I want you to spend the
same amount of money on me".
You know, and he'd even add inflation into it.
SHIREEN: If you have any words to describe Michael,
it's, "Fun," and he's really, really funny.
JAN: It's not easy as a child growing up in our situation.
You know, I wasn't wealthy, and, but we managed, and
I like to think they had a pretty good childhood.
MICHAEL: These snobby kids would make fun of us,
and I just said to myself, "Well, that's it now".
You know.
"Anyone that carries on talking shit, then, then I'm
gonna take care of it," and that's what I started doing,
you know, and it felt nice.
This one guy in particular was, you know, bullying me,
and I said, "I'm not gonna fucking take this any more".
You know.
And I punched him in the face.
It was good.
It was rewarding, you know, because they changed
their tune.
They shut the fuck up.
There's always idiots around, you know, so getting into
fights when I was younger, unfortunately when I was
a kid, yeah, there was a lot of that.
KATHLEEN: He was always full of life, full of energy.
He didn't know what he was gonna do next, and my husband
thought it'd be a good idea to put that energy into Jiu-Jitsu
and, you know, a hobby.
JAN: The culture at the time said that this guy one day
will be a world champion in martial arts, and I thought,
"Well, if you see that, then I'll keep bringing him down
to train".
MICHAEL: You know, I never played sports when I was
a kid.
When I was at school and we picked teams, they picked
that guy, that guy, that guy, that guy.
There'd be me at the end with like the disabled kid,
and they'd pick the disa...
I'm like, "Come on.
For fuck's sake.
Are you serious?"
So I was never a gifted athlete at school,
but I could fight.
I mean, I started doing martial arts when I was
8 years old.
Fighting was something that I liked, to be honest.
ALLAN: It was 100% effort or nothing, and he always
gave 100% effort.
He would keep coming for you.
He's take a few shots, and he's still coming at you, and
get hurt, and still come at you, because his attitude was
absolutely phenomenal.
JAN: Say, when he was 11, was fighting in the under
13's and winning it.
The under 16's and winning it, and invariably winning the
under 18's and doing well in the adult competition.
[♪♪♪]
CHRIS: His dad, his brothers, the entire family was
well-known around Clitheroe.
You know what I mean.
You didn't fuck with him.
SHIREEN: Be careful, because I've heard that Bispings
are violent.
MICHAEL: It was a volatile household.
KATHLEEN: Well, it was really strict, because I think of the army,
and he used to shout, and people all could hear him,
and they used to say, "Oh my god.
Jan is off again," wouldn't they.
SHIREEN: If I ever wanted anything, I would always
go up, "Dad.
Are you in a good mood?"
He'd be like, "Yeah.
Why?"
I'm like, "Well, I wanted to ask you something".
MICHAEL: Yeah.
People always say, "What was your dad like?"
and I'm like, "Well, he was a bit of a psycho when
he was younger.
He's a calm guy now.
He's very, very calm, in fact," but when he was
younger, definitely a bit of a maniac.
Everyone in the neighbourhood, they were all shit
scared of him.
I remember one time, my brother was in the school
football team, and it was Saturday morning.
We went to watch him play, and we're standing there on the
sidelines, and he fouled somebody, you know, and the
referee called foul, gave him a yellow card, and my dad's
like, "What the hell?
What the fuck are you doing?"
And he shouts something out to the referee, and the referee,
you know, says something back to my dad.
Storms onto the pitch.
I'm like, "Jeez, Dad.
What are you doing?
No way".
Boom.
Cheeky little head-butt, drops the referee.
I'm like, "Dad, what are you doing?
I'm never gonna live this down.
He walks off, he grabs me, "Come on, Son.
Let's get in the car, get out of here".
[laughing]
So yeah.
There you go.
That's what my dad was like.
That's just one of, you know, many, many instances I can go
to, but you know, as I say, you know, "I love my dad".
He had a quick temper.
I've got a quick temper.
SHIREEN: But because of that, I think, I feel like we all
got the reputation for like being tough, and I'm not.
[laughing]
MICHAEL: You know, I never had a lot of friends and stuff,
but then, when I started fighting, you know, it kind of
makes you more popular, so, you know, I kind of gravitated
towards that a little bit, because, you know,
I don't know.
All of a sudden I had a bunch of friends.
MAN: Yeah.
[laughing]
[indistinct chatter]
MICHAEL: By the way, I'm talking 16-17-18 years old.
You know, when you're that age, you don't have any
of the cares.
MICHAEL: Fuck you, mother fucker.
MAN: You can't, you can't say that.
[laughing]
MICHAEL: Eh!
KATHLEEN: With his friends at the time, they would say,
"Michael, this one's done this to me.
This is, can you sort it out?"
And Michael used to think, "Oh.
I'll sort it out for you," but he ended up in trouble
then himself.
SHIREEN: And that's like just typical Michael.
You know, just kind and always looks after you.
MICHAEL: Growing up, all people cared about was
football and going to the pub, and if you combine the two,
the football with the pub and the drinking and the booze,
you know, it's a good time.
The match finishes.
Everyone's screaming.
They're chanting.
They're throwing their beers in the air.
"Will Grigg's on fire".
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: And of course, you know, when you combine the
English's passion for football and you throw in a few beers,
then what's gonna happen?
Well, shit's gonna kick off.
Simple as that.
[♪♪♪]
REPORTER: And once again British soccer supporters
found themselves at the centre of a shameful display of
running battles, knife attacks, and sheer
hooliganism.
SCOTT: You know, Mike's from a tough part of the world, that
the further up north you go, the bigger and meaner
they get.
That's the good thing about England, I think, personally,
because we don't have a gun culture.
You're more likely to just get into a scrap.
There was a problem, you had a fight, you settled it with
your fists, and that's the way we did it.
DAZ: It's funny, 'cause we'd go, went around Clitheroe
filming for Reebok, and we're walking down the street going
to this set, and it's only me and Mike, and he says,
"See that pub there, Daz?"
I said, "Yeah".
He said, "I got thrown out of there.
See that pub over there?
6 doormen started on me.
You see that pub over there?
Well, this happened.
You see that pub there?
That happened".
And every street corner in Clitheroe, Mike can tell you a
story of when he's had a scrap or a trouble with somebody.
MAN: At that point in his life, he wasn't really going
anywhere as such.
You know what I mean.
He was just going down the road that any of the guy of
that edge from Clitheroe was going.
MICHAEL: I worked at a slaughter house.
I remember, you know, that was like.
Anyone that, you know, needs a job, they could put, they
probably did a stint at the slaughter house in Clitheroe,
and my fist job was to go around and pick up all the
heads that hadn't landed in the bin and put the heads in
the bin, and I'm like, fucking having a mini heart attack
here, so I've got a shovel, and I'm like shovelling the
heads up, and they're like, "Michael, they're not gonna
bite you.
You're okay.
Just grab 'em and put them in the fucking bin".
I'm like, "Dude.
That's a sheep's head that's just been cut off.
I'm done.
I'm out of here.
Fuck this.
Stick it up your ass".
What else?
Door to door salesman, and got to work, and walk around all
fucking day in the rain and the cold, and you knock on
people's doors, and they'd open the door, and I'd go,
"Hi. Hello, sir.
Sorry to bother you.
Are you aware of deregulation with the gas rules,"
or whatever.
Some bullshit.
Door shut.
Next.
Just all day, doors slammed in your face.
Like, "You fucking asshole.
I thought I was gonna get a sale there".
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Working in fucking shitty dead-end factories
wasn't who I was.
That's why I was so unhappy.
Certainly, me and my friends, we'd work Monday to Friday,
and then at the weekend we'd go and do the pubs.
SHIREEN: People would just come over to him, and like,
"Oh, you think you tough?"
Like, "Fight. Fight me,"
and he would say, "No," and they would hit him,
and he would always finish it, but it was defence, and it got
him in trouble.
MICHAEL: I know this one particular occasion, I was.
We were in a bar.
MICHAEL: This is the bar, right here.
So, we come out here, and one guy that punched me,
so I'm like, "Okay.
Well, it's on".
You know?
And he grabs this girl, and he grabs her - he's in like
a full nelson.
He's stood in the middle of the road.
He's got this girl grabbed.
I'm like, "Oh my God.
What are you doing?
You're acting like a tough guy, but now you're using
a girl as a human shield".
As I'm standing here like this, I can see the other one.
He's getting closer and closer.
He's edging closer, and the other guy's talking, so he's
got my attention, and the other guy's edging closer
and closer.
And I could see him, but he didn't - I didn't let him know
that I could see him.
Boom.
Head-kicked him.
[hands clapping]
MICHAEL: He hits the deck.
I was laid in bed, it was summer so the window was opened,
and I heard a knock at the door.
It was super early.
And I peer out the window.
There was like 3 cops at the door.
I'm like, "Shit.
What do they want?"
Kind of had an idea.
And I looked out the door there at the back, and there
was like 4 cops there as well.
I'm like, "Oh shit.
What is going on?"
I thought, "I'd better go down".
It's like 7 in the morning.
So, I go downstairs, and then, I'm trying to talk to the
cops, and like, "You're under arrest".
SHIREEN: It sounds awful, but it was kind of normal, and
I think this time was different because he was in trouble.
You know, and it was this time it was big trouble.
MICHAEL: The judge sentenced me to 28 days in prison.
[gavel striking]
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: This is the fucking dregs of society.
I am not one of these people.
I'm better than this, and I said to myself there and then,
I said, "That's it.
That's it.
I am fucking done with this.
I will never be back in this type of environment ever
again, and I will never throw another punch in my life".
[metal slamming]
[indistinct yelling]
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: You know, I learned my lesson.
You know, and I thank that judge for that, because
he did teach me a lesson.
I was kind of reckless.
I was an idiot.
We've all got volatile tempers.
We all do things we regret.
You know, but it made me the man I am today.
It made me who I am.
I had a good childhood.
I had a great childhood.
I saw a lot of violence.
Saw a lot of violence as a child, way too much violence.
I love my parents dearly.
They did their best by me.
MICHAEL: I think I was forced to be mentally tough,
to be honest.
Yeah.
I mean, I saw things that, you know, a child my size, age,
shouldn't have seen, you know, but-.
INTERVIEWER: Like what?
Be specific.
MICHAEL: Just, you know.
I don't really want to say it, to be honest.
I love my mum and dad, so I don't want to throw 'em under
a bus, you know.
So.
[sniffing]
[exhaling]
INTERVIEWER: Is it just stuff at home you-.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
Just stuff at home.
Looking back now, as a man, you know, I can see what my
dad was going through.
Probably a bit of depression.
Maybe a bit of PTSD, whatever.
You know, he, as I say, was a sniper, and he was a sniper
that was put to use.
So he had a lot of demons to deal with, and as I say, money
was tight, and it was a volatile household, you know.
But I'm not here to shit all over my parents.
They loved us dearly.
My dad's my hero, in fact.
My dad's an amazing person.
He really is, and so's my mom.
Love 'em both to death.
[♪♪♪]
REBECCA: I feel I was born to love Michael and to support
him, and that's my role in life.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be sitting here
having this conversation.
Period.
I wouldn't have been a fighter.
I wouldn't have, you know.
I wouldn't be a success in life, you know.
I know it sounds arrogant, but it's true.
You know, it's all down to Rebecca.
REBECCA: I love him from the absolute bottom of my heart,
and I know that he feels the same for me.
MICHAEL: I never thought I was good enough for Rebecca.
When I met her, I thought I didn't deserve her.
I thought her family was too good for me.
I thought she was too good for me.
REBECCA: It was very different to what I was used to.
There was a lot of shouting.
Lot of swearing.
Things like that.
[♪♪♪]
REBECCA: So, one time Michael and I are on a night out.
We came back to Michael's house, and we just watched
some TV and fell asleep on the couch.
In the morning, Michael's mom came down the stairs, and she
was so angry at me.
Livid.
KATHLEEN: Oh my God.
I'm some embarrassed.
But, yeah, he did.
He brought her in in the middle of the night, you see.
REBECCA: And I guess she kind of thought that maybe we were
up to no good, you know.
Being inappropriate.
KATHLEEN: For all I knew, she could've been anybody,
you know.
People that sleep around.
I don't know.
REBECCA: She's calling me like a whore, and, you know, hussy
and to get out and how dare I.
She's got children upstairs.
REBECCA: And I said, "Becca.
Come here.
Come here".
I says, "I'm so sorry".
I says, "Just I've got a house full of children, and I don't
want them to think that's what you do".
MICHAEL: Our house was so volatile.
I couldn't understand it when I went, I first went to her
house at Christmas, you know, and like everyone was like
so respectful and nice and there was no argument and
no shouting, and I just, I felt, it was weird.
But I didn't know how to mentally process it all.
I was like, "Fucking.
At some point...
At some point she's going to kick off of him, and he's
going to throw a glass of wine in her face, and he's gonna
get slapped, because it's all going to kick off any minute,"
'cause that's how it was in my house.
I'm like, "Any minute now," but no.
Everybody sits respectfully, listens to what the other one
has to say, and the, "Ha ha," which is great.
It's awesome, but I was like, at first, I was struggling
with it.
I'm like, "What the fuck," but this is how it's meant to be.
That's how life should be.
I was a fucking asshole.
Let's be honest.
I was going out trying to fight everybody, you know.
And that's no way to live your life.
MICHAEL: And I was working at the time as an upholsterer.
On a Sunday night, we get a phone call.
My sensai, when I was younger, he was like the head
of the organization.
He always took a special interest in me and said
I could go a long way.
He said, "Mike, is this what you want to do for the rest
of your life?"
I'm like, "Fuck no".
Told me all about the explosion of the UFC, mixed
martial arts, Pride FC out in Japan, and said, "Guys that
can fight well in martial arts can make real money now".
Every single martial art tournament I ever entered when
I was a child, I won, and I felt like this was who I was
always destined to be.
Rebecca will tell you.
She knew that right back then, when that phone call happened,
things were going to change.
So, he made me an offer.
He said, "If you quit work, move down to Nottingham,
train here Monday to Friday, go home, DJ at the weekend to
make a little bit of money," he said, "If you can make it
top 5 in the UK, I'll give you loss-of-earnings at the job
you were at".
[♪♪♪]
MAN: Mike used to DJ at a club called Munroe's.
It was open all night.
You know, every villain, wanna-be gangster, undesirable
was in this club, and Mike used to DJ in there, and you
know, he had the name is "DJ Mikey B", and back in the day
he was more famous for spinnin' his records than
he ever was for fighting in the UFC.
MICHAEL: I moved down to Nottingham, and that's
what I did.
Started training.
You know, I'd sleep in my car.
It was freezing cold, 'cause obviously money was tight
beforehand, but know we quit work.
REBECCA: Money was extremely tight in the early days.
We had none.
He would, he would sleep in his car, because we couldn't
afford like a hotel room or a BnB or something like that.
MICHAEL: Oh, I'm gonna quit work and go live in another
city and have a jolly old time, by myself, while you
stay here and slug it out with two fucking kids by yourself.
How many women would let you do that?
Not many.
She was selfless.
She helped me.
You know, made me realize that, you know, the way I was
living my life and my mental approach was all wrong.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: This is 2003 in England, okay?
No one knew what MMA was.
I remember doing this radio interview with this lady, and
she entirely proved my point.
MICHAEL: This is Mixed Martial Arts.
That's what it's known as.
It's not Fight Club or anything.
It's not for barbarians.
It's not for thugs, you know.
If-I take it you haven't watched the sport.
WOMAN: No.
I haven't watched.
MICHAEL: Okay.
WOMAN: But, you do look like a barbarian.
MICHAEL: Well, thank you very much.
You know, I'll keep my comments about you to myself.
WOMAN: [laughing]
MICHAEL: You know, I'm not a barbarian.
Far from it, you know.
You've just met me.
[♪♪♪]
ANNOUNCER: Michael "The Count" Bisping.
COMMENTATOR: He unleashes the strikes, and that is what
makes him a champion.
MICHAEL: I'm proud to say I quickly became one of the top
fighters in the UK, so now, my focus was on the UFC in
America, and making it on to The Ultimate Fighter show
in Las Vegas.
BRUCE: Michael Bisping!
[♪♪♪]
DANA: The UFC wasn't allowed on Pay Per View.
As a grown adult, you couldn't make the decision to buy
this on Pay Per View.
Porn was on Pay Per View.
UFC was not, so that was the uphill battle we had.
The Ultimate Fighter was our trojan horse, because we knew
we had to get on television, but the networks were
terrified of this product, so we put together a
reality show.
You're watching Ultimate Fighting, but it's in a
reality show format, which doesn't make it feel
as hardcore.
MICHAEL: So I earned the shot in The Ultimate Fighter show.
Put me one step closer to my dream of being a UFC fighter.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: My name is Mike "The Count" Bisping,
and I've flown halfway across the world for this.
I feel I can, I've got what it takes to make a real living
out of this.
You know, a real career.
DANA: I love fighters that are confident.
I love fighters that wanna be world champions.
I love fighters that believe they're the best and wanna
prove it to everybody, and that's why Mike Bisping
and I hit it off so well.
REFEREE: Stop it right there.
That's it.
ROSS: Oof!
MAN: Nice!
MICHAEL: So, obviously, at the end of The Ultimate Fighter,
the prize is a contract in the UFC.
JAN: By that time, all I was thinking about was,
"If he gets to the final, I'm booking a flight to Vegas,"
which is what we ended up doing.
BRUCE: Who will be crowned the Ultimate Fighter and go on to
receive a 6-figure contract with the UFC.
MIKE: How is he still standing?
JOE: Oh!
MIKE: Haynes is in trouble.
It is all over!
JOE: Wow.
MIKE: Michael Bisping is the Ultimate Fighter.
MICHAEL: All that time as a kid, when I was younger, you know,
being a little dickhead, gettin' in scraps,
it's all paying off now.
REBECCA: It's worked, you know.
This crazy plan that we had.
A lot of people doubted us.
MICHAEL: I just remember sprinting up the stands to Rebecca.
It brought a tear to my eye, it really did.
MICHAEL: I had no idea that the people of Great Britain
were watching and were behind me the way they were, and I
will never ever forget that.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: So I dominated Elvis Sinosic at UFC 70, and I got
the TKO from my first ever UFC win on English soil.
I went on to beat Matt Hamill in UFC 75 in a very
hard-fought split decision victory.
I fought Rashad Evans, and I was kinda just happy to be
there, and unfortunately, I took my first ever loss
by split decision.
I was kinda in awe of him a little bit, and I was a fan
of this guy, you know.
So, that was the problem with my mentality back then.
I'd say, "Ah, well, I'm crying all the way to the bank,"
and I think deep down, that was just me trying to mask it.
From that moment on, I made sure I was in the right
mindset for all of my fights.
I fought Charles McCarthy.
First-round TKO.
I then fought Jason Day.
First-round TKO.
I never lost a fight in 2008, and I thought, "If I could
beat Dan Henderson at UFC 100, I had to get a title fight".
[♪♪♪]
ARIEL: I knew how big that fight was.
It was at the time the biggest card in UFC history, UFC 100.
DAN: Prior to UFC 100, Michael Bisping and I were coaches on
the ultimate fighter, and it was the first time they did
country verse country, USA versus UK.
During the show, Michael talked a lot of smack.
MICHAEL: Taking it to the yanks.
MICHAEL: Is that the best you've got?
MAN: Look, man...
DAN: A lot of people weren't fans of his after that.
KARYN: Michael was definitely the "bad guy", definitely the
"bad boy", the smack talker.
I understand why a lot of people didn't like Michael and
really wanted to see him get his butt handed to him.
MAN: Mike, I talk so much shit to you on Twitter, and you
never blocked me, and now I'm a fan.
MICHAEL: You can kiss my ass.
MICHAEL: The main challenge this week I suppose is just
making weight and getting into the octagon nice and healthy.
But it's all gonna go swimmingly smooth, I'm sure.
[high-pitched tone]
[heavy breathing]
MICHAEL: I can't remember anything.
I don't remember leaving the octagon.
I don't remember anything.
I didn't know what was going on.
I had no idea why I was in a locker room and I just fought.
In my mind, I wasn't-I was fighting, 3 months' time.
[cheering]
JOE: He was circling towards that direction.
He ran right into the big right hand of Dan Henderson.
He is still out cold.
MICHAEL: And I'm thinking, "What do you mean
I just fought?"
They're like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Michael, you got knocked out".
I'm like, "No, no, no.
I'm fighting in 3 months".
They're like, "No, Michael.
You fought tonight".
I'm like, "Hold on.
What, did I step in for somebody at the last minute?
Did somebody get injured?"
They're like,
"No. Michael.
Right, you need to go to the hospital".
So, I start having a shower, and I come out, and my manager
was there.
I say, "Hey.
Come here.
Come here".
I said, "What's going on?"
He said, "You've been knocked out.
You need to go to the hospital".
I said, "No.
Ah, yeah.
I'm fine.
I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine".
Go back into the shower.
30 seconds later.
Cwuh, from out behind the towel.
I'm like, [whispering] "Come here.
Come here.
What's going on?"
He's like, "You've been fucking knocked out.
You need to go to the hospital".
I was, "Ah, I'm fine.
I'm fine, I'm fine," and anyway, that went on a few
times, and like,
"You need.
To go.
To the hospital, okay?"
'cause I didn't have a fucking clue what was going on.
[siren wailing]
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Yeah.
I was in the back of an ambulance with Frank Mir.
Frank Mir just been fucked up by Brock Lesnar, and me and
Frank Mir in the back of an ambulance like two sorry
assholes, and yeah, then it all started.
I was sitting there, and I just went, "Fuck".
And he went, "What?
What?"
I said, "Nah".
I said, "Now it makes sense.
Now I remember," 'cause before I had no idea.
I couldn't put it all together, and my brain had
finally started working to the point where I could piece it
all together.
I was like, "Shit.
I lost the fight".
You know.
Oh well.
What are you gonna do?
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL W: Those were two nasty, nasty, nasty punches.
I mean, that's like the punch that, you know, when you punch
that damn bag at the carnival, the thing that registers
how hard you punch?
That looks like that punch.
You know, when you just take a-.
If you wind up and give it all.
JOE: Getting fucked up in a fight where it was your choice
to enter into the fight, you decided you're gonna get into
a cage with another man?
It takes a special kind of person to choose to do that.
MICHAEL: I have this mask that I'm supremely confident and
this and that, but that's probably the opposite.
JOE: When I see a fighter lose, especially lose a big
important fight by spectacular knockout - Like, a perfect
example is when Conor McGregor knocked out José Aldo.
You knew that the pain that he was feeling right there
inside the octogan was just the beginning.
He was going to be haunted for years.
MICHAEL: Because when you win a fight, it's the best feeling
in the world, and then when you lose, it's horrible.
Of course it hurts physically, but I don't give a fuck about
physical pain, you know.
That doesn't bother me, but the emotional pain,
the heartache, yeah, that fuckin' hurts.
You're a failure in that objective.
You failed, and you told the world you were gonna win,
you did the press conferences...
MICHAEL: I'm gonna win.
MICHAEL: And you failed, and you lost.
[water splashing]
[♪♪♪]
JOE: It's not just the disappointment of failure.
It's the rotting pain inside your soul that this person
took something from you.
Every minute of every day, whether you're playing with
your children or going to the movies or having dinner with
your wife, in the back of your head, you're like, "That
mother fucker knocked me out in front of the whole world".
RASHAD: The mindset of the fighter is, is a very
chaotic place.
RASHAD: Don't you understand?
RASHAD: What I've been doin'.
RASHAD: To get in that cage.
TITO: There's been a lot of times I've been in my
very darkest points as a fighter, like no other.
I remember sitting in my hotel room at Mandalay Bay and just
sitting in the shower, and just tears coming down
my eyes of just... defeat.
Anger.
I left all my, let all my fans down, let all my family down.
MICHAEL W: As a fighter, there is something that overwhelms
everything else.
I mean...
I'll give you an example.
When I played Mike Tyson, I had to hear everybody's
Mike Tyson story.
So you got Robert De Niro over here, you got former
president, you got a governor here, and Mike Tyson walks
in the room, everybody's gonna look at him.
In a male-dominated society, the pugilist trumps
everything else, because deep down people want that power
more than anything else.
The power to dominate another person, that goes deep into
the psyche of men.
It can be a very lonely, lonely existence.
You know, bless those who don't define it as their only
connection to value.
VIN: I'm not sure that any form of extreme success comes
without some isolation and comes without some deep
soul-searching.
PHONE: "What's wrong?"
MICHAEL: I never spoke about it too anybody.
I never opened up about it at all, and I was in bed one day
watching the Rocky movie.
Stallone portrays the, the emotions that fighters
go through just perfectly in those Rocky movies.
ROCKY: I can't stop my hands from shaking.
[♪♪♪]
ROCKY: He never felt this thing.
ADRIAN: You gotta see a doctor.
ROCKY: No, I, I just wanna go home.
ADRIAN: Home?
ROCKY: Yeah.
ADRIAN: Not see a doctor?
ROCKY: I'm just tired.
Just tired.
MICHAEL: I just burst into tears, started bawling my eyes
out, and my wife ran up.
She's like, "What's wrong?
What's wrong?"
And it was the first time I'd released any emotion about
the fight, you know.
Of course I was disappointed.
You know, I thought I was going to be fighting
for the world title.
I'd sacrificed so much to win that fight, you know, but as
always, I just put a smile and a joke on the end of it,
and don't relay my emotions.
You know, I always bottle things up.
And I remember Joe Rogan, Joe Rogan saying...
JOE: It takes incredible mental strength to believe
in yourself.
Do you really wanna do this?
JOE: Can you regroup and get back in to become a
world class fighter?
Some people can't.
ARIEL: And I think that night a lot of people celebrated the
fact that Michael Bisping was done, that, that he was
like essentially dead.
Like, like Dan Henderson had just killed him, and killed
him off for good.
We had been rid of the boogeyman.
MICHAEL: You know, I was, "Fuck him".
I was mad.
I was angry.
I've had people write me off constantly, constantly
throughout my career, saying I wasn't good enough,
wasn't strong enough, just wasn't skilled enough.
"It's over.
You're never ever gonna get a title shot again".
Everybody said, "You cannot come back from a
knockout like that".
Or maybe I should retire, 'cause this isn't good
for my health.
I was like, "Fuck that.
There isn't anything else.
There isn't a backup plan, because if this doesn't work,
if this doesn't pan out, I'm fucked.
I've got nothing".
And all these journalists and all these people that wrote me
off, that wrote negative articles, that write shit on
Twitter, that are on these forums, of the utter hatred
and negativity that people have brought about me over
the years, and I thank you, because that fuelled me.
That fuelled me more than anything, to prove you
all wrong.
To say that I'm fucking done?
You think I'm over?
You think I'm fucking finished in this sport?
I'll fight anybody, anywhere, anytime, right fucking now.
You line them up, I'll knock them down.
That's the way I've always been, and you mother fucker
want to sit there behind a desk and write a fucking
article on your laptop and talk shit about me after what
I've been through?
Go fuck yourself.
VIN: Being an alpha is a pain in the ass.
I mean, just to be real.
I mean, anyone that's a real alpha will tell ya,
it's a drag sometimes.
[chuckles]
That's, and that's real.
But it's who you are.
You can't change who you are.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: I've lost a bit of respect in the fighting world.
I want to take that respect back, and first thing on the
list is beating Denis Kang.
DANA: Michael Bisping never turned down a fight.
[♪♪♪]
JOE: How pumped up he is.
You know what?
That Dan Henderson loss could have created a monster.
MICHAEL: Fight started, by the way, and boom.
[laughing]
I got hit with a right hand and put down pretty much
straight away.
MIKE: And right down the guard.
MICHAEL: And I recovered.
I said, "Hold on.
Don't worry about this.
We got this".
MIKE: Kang took a knee.
JOE: Kang's in trouble.
That's it.
MIKE: It is all over!
JOE: Wow.
Tremendous performance.
He had his back up against the wall.
MICHAEL: It felt good.
It wasn't just the winning, you know.
It was shutting up all the critics, all the people, all
the naysayers, the teachers at school, the people in my home
town, a lot of people that don't want to see you make it,
and so it felt good.
It felt very good.
[♪♪♪]
BRUCE: I really do believe that behind every man
is a good or great woman.
I had the pleasure at Rebecca's and Michael's
wedding, announced him walking into the reception as man and
wife as they walked down the aisle of love for the first
time forever.
I know I did it in a very funny way, and I introduced
both of them individual, and my big thing when it comes to
weddings is they walk in, it's like,
"Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Rebecca Bisping".
Like that.
[applause]
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: And at that time, of course, I was going on a good
win streak.
I was looking impressive in the octagon.
I was starting to get the recognition from the media and
from the fans, and it felt great, and to be honest,
I thought I could beat anybody.
MIKE: He has quickly become one of the most exciting and
one of the most popular fighters in the UFC.
MICHAEL: Like always, I got the knockout or the TKO.
Anyone, everyone, they'd better watch their
fucking back.
[♪♪♪]
[applause]
MICHAEL: I got matched up against Vitor Belfort.
JON: Huge clip... Vitor Belfort has done it again...
[applause]
MICHAEL: The narrative from everybody.
All the media, the UFC, Joe Rogan, I remember he said
if I beat Vitor Belfort, I'm next in line for a title shot.
JOE: Michael Bisping has been beating the drum for a shot at
the title for a long time.
Now finally, he has an opportunity.
If he can get past Vitor Belfort-.
BRENDAN: Pray to the MMA gods Vitor Belfort does not enter
that fucking thing juiced to the gills.
JOE: Oh, he's going to.
BRENDAN: Have you seen his tits lately?
Oh my God.
JOE: Yeah.
There's something happens to Vitor when he fills up
with super unleaded.
BRENDAN: Dude, it's like peanut butter and jelly.
He got dick veins out the side of his neck.
JOE: He's got more muscle than all of us together.
BRENDAN: Like, some people don't do well with roids.
They get all red and shit.
He looks great.
His skin's vibrant.
His tits are poppin'.
JOE: [laughing]
BRENDAN: He's all tanned.
His teeth get whiter.
JOE: He was at a level with his testosterone that no
human ever reaches.
You don't get there.
It's not real.
Like there's a human, and then there's this, kkkh, khhh,
there's this new slot that you can fall into if you get just
enough juice in your system.
I mean, he's fucking red lining his engines.
It's like, BRRRRRGH... So he was going into that cage
red lined, and that's who Michael Bisping fought.
[♪♪♪]
JOE: When they were at the weigh-ins, Bisping leans over
to Vitor and says, "Jesus isn't real".
[laughing]
Which, in retrospect, probably wasn't the best thing to say
to a juiced up TRT Vitor.
MICHAEL: See, this is a tough fight.
You know, he's been knocking everybody out with
head kicks recently.
JON: There it is again.
That left high kick.
And Bisping is over-.
MICHAEL: Went down.
Followed it up with some shots.
I was okay, actually.
But then the referee stepped in.
[applause]
JON: Vitor Belfort...
JOE: Huge high kick.
JON: Has knocked out Michael Bisping.
[applause]
MICHAEL: I think he's a piece of shit is what I think.
I'm not sure if I'm getting my point across on how I feel
about him, if I'm honest.
DANA: Bisping was all over Vitor about that.
Yeah, back in the day, there were definitely guys who
fought guys who cheated.
MICHAEL: So it turns out that kick to the head from Vitor,
that would soon become my worst nightmare.
MICHAEL: Can you imagine, that kick to the head from Vitor.
MICHAEL: The curtain's closing.
MICHAEL: My worst nightmare.
MICHAEL: It crept in like this, and it stopped there,
it was like the curtains that had been shut all the way,
and if I close this eye, that's all I could see.
It was all black, and then a strip of vision in the middle,
and I was like, you know, you ain't gotta be a doctor to
figure that that isn't normal, so I called my eye doctor.
"I think I've got a detached retina,"
and he said, "Well, why do you say that?"
I said, "Because when I put my hand in front of my face
and wiggle my fingers, I can't fucking see them,"
and he went, "Yeah, you need to come in here
right now".
Sure enough, detached retina.
MICHAEL: I am going to do everything in my power to make
sure that I still fight in Manchester, so, you know,
it's just a bump in the road, hopefully.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: The surgery lasted over an hour.
They injected oil in my eye, they used a laser, they put
a silicon sponge around the outside, and eventually
reattached my retina.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Dana White calls, and he says, "Have you spoken
to your doctor?"
and I said, "No".
He said, "Well, I have".
I said, "Right.
Okay. Go on.
What'd he say?"
and he said, "Well, I'll just cut
to the chase.
He said you're never gonna fight again".
He said, "He said, 'Your eye is a mess'".
Obviously.
You know, that wasn't an easy phone call to take.
Fighting was my life.
Still I never gave up hope.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: After recovery, I wake up one morning with a
headache, but I still decided to go for a run, then the pain
got increasingly worse.
The pain my head was like nothing I'd ever experienced
ever, so when I got back my wife called my doctor.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: A regular person's eye pressure is between
9 and 20.
They checked my pressure.
It was like 90-something.
They said they've never seen someone's pressure as high.
They said, "Go to this other hospital".
I went to this other hospital, and they have a procedure
where they use laser, where they can clear the drainage
in the eye, and they give me some medication.
They sent me on my way.
It felt like my eyeball was going to explode.
I get home.
Head's still fucking exploding.
It's like, the worst pain you could ever imagine.
Gets to like 2:00 in the morning, I'm still like this.
So we drove off to Pasadena, the only doctor that was open
at that time of night.
Literally, I wasn't a very pleasant person to be around.
I'm screaming, howling in agony.
We get this huge needle, shove it right in my eye.
"The drain in your eye is blocked.
You've got glaucoma".
He pulls out this piece of plastic.
He says, "I'm gonna put this in your eye, and it'll
relieve the drainage".
They're operating, and I wake up a little bit beforehand.
The anaesthetic had worn off.
The pain.
The pain was the worst thing I've ever experienced,
and I could see the doctors, like, "What's going on?"
Soom.
Sticks another needle in my eye, more medication,
and boom, puts me under.
And so they had to go in, undo the operation, take the drain
out, and start all over again.
[♪♪♪]
[waves crashing]
[♪♪♪]
[heavy breathing]
DAZ: Cast your mind back to the film, Rocky 2.
[♪♪♪]
ADRIAN: You have to retire.
ROCKY: I ain't gonna, I don't want to retire.
You know.
This ain't the time to retire.
You know.
Not in here.
Not in no office.
DAZ: Mike Bisping is the true, he's the true epitome
of a Rocky movie.
He really is.
Love him or hate him, that is a true testament
of the character.
REBECCA: I spoke to Michael a couple of times about ending it,
without saying, "Okay, I think it's time".
He knew how I felt.
You know, of course it was taking its toll on him.
[♪♪♪]
ADRIAN: Do you love me?
ROCKY: Yeah, I love you.
Now, what, why do you ask that?
ADRIAN: Because if you love somebody, you live with him,
you live for them.
You don't gamble with a life.
Rocky, I don't care about the money.
It's you.
That's all that matters.
Please.
We'll be okay.
We'll be fine.
REBECCA: That was a very dark time in his life.
[♪♪♪]
REBECCA: The life just seemed to go out of him, and my guess
is I, he just felt like his identity was gone as well,
as well as his livelihood, you know.
The pressure of, "What am I gonna do now?
This is all I know.
How am I gonna support my wife and my kids now?"
I mean, that pressure on top of having to go through
that kind of injury, I can't imagine what that must have
been like for him.
MICHAEL W: One thing about fighters is we feel more
than other folks.
You know that you're embraced by somebody who would
basically die for you.
Even though we take the moniker of, of the monster,
but we wouldn't be those monsters if we didn't have
something to protect, and that's, our true nature
is loving individuals.
REBECCA: Michael lives for his children.
Everything he does is for them.
Has such a close bond with them.
ELLIE: Hello.
LUCAS: [laughing]
CALLUM: Hey Dad.
ELLIE: Hiya Dad.
MICHAEL: Hiya Dad.
[chatter fades]
[♪♪♪]
COBURN: Thomas Magnum, I presume.
THOMAS: You must be Coburn.
COBURN: Alright.
Let's keep this simple.
Our guy for yours.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: I started focusing on everything I could do to build
- for want of a better expression - a brand outside
of fighting.
I started to try to focus on movies, on TV, on podcasts,
doing anything in the media, anything I could.
SCOTT: I think he could translate his career into
films quite easily, because he's such a fun, charismatic,
very chatty, funny guy.
SCOTT: You do as your fucking told and get in the van.
MICHAEL: Who do you think you're talking to, ay?
You keep telling me what to do, and you're pissing me off.
SCOTT: We're running around the streets with fucking
machine guns.
Look at the eyes on us.
MAN: You work across the street.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
NOEL: Diamond exchange.
MICHAEL: That's right.
NOEL: Beer's on me.
NOEL: No, I think Michael is a good actor.
When you have that mindset of learning, and you can absorb
things, you're always going to improve at what you do.
So, if you look at his performance in earlier movies
to now, you're going to see a vast difference, but that goes
back to fighting.
You look at his performance when he was coming up as a
fighter to, to later on, there's a vast difference.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: I started getting treatment.
You know, obviously, post-surgery, you know,
treatment and recovery, and you gotta go back for
check-ups and things.
My doctor wasn't there one day, and I saw a different
doctor, and this doctor said, "My dad told me there's
two types of people in this life.
One type of person, swings through the jungle on a vine
and waits until they have hold of another vine before they
let go of that one".
He said, "The other type of person swings through the
fucking jungle and they let go and they hope
they catch a vine".
He said, "Something tells me you're that
second type of person".
I said, "You fucking bet your ass I am".
He said, "Okay".
He said, "We'll start training, and then we'll see
how that goes, and then hopefully down the line
we'll book a fight".
So I came out there with the biggest sense of joy
and relief.
You know, I was so happy.
The reality is, off-camera, is that, from when I opened,
not for camera.
MICHAEL: No, apart from, yeah, yeah.
MICHAEL: I could see a little bit.
MICHAEL: If you're following what I'm putting down,
'cause I got a camera in my face.
[laughing]
Just roll with the punches, Mike.
[laughing]
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Having a doctor tell me to start training again
and getting medically cleared to fight, that's two very
different things.
I had to pass the test that
said I had a minimum of 2200 vision, and even though
2200 vision is classed as clinically blind, for me,
well let's just say that was very challenging.
I know you all wanna know how I got medically cleared
to fight again, but I can't talk about that.
I'm not going to go into details, but if you know me,
then you know there's nothing I won't do to take care of my
family, and I did what I had to do in order to fight again
and take care of them.
That's all I can say.
But long story short, I got cleared to fight, but let me
tell ya, it wasn't easy.
MICHAEL: I walked out, "Fucking come on!"
I was so fucking happy, so happy, so happy,
because I was cleared.
I was done.
I dodged a bullet again.
[♪♪♪]
JAN: It's amazing how he bluffed the doctors,
he bluffed the UFC, he got through the commissions.
It was always a ride.
You know, every time he had a fight after the Belfort fight,
it was, "Am I going to get pulled?
Am I gonna get caught?
Or am I get pulled from the fight at the last minute
and career over.
And he just kept going.
MICHAEL: I've got zero depth perception, you know.
The brain's an amazing thing, you know.
Once I actually touch the guy, once I actually got my hands
on him, I could physically touch him, my brain could
figure out exactly where he was, and then I'd have more
success, but it was definitely an evolution all the time.
DAZ: I challenge anybody, put your hand over your right eye,
and then ride a bike, drive a car, let someone punch you,
try and defend it.
I guarantee that 99 out of 100 would struggle very,
very badly.
[♪♪♪]
KENNY: How is this guy actually going to compete
with one working eye?
This guy should be retired.
What is he doing?
How is he gonna fight?
Who does this guy-I mean, someone needs to tell this guy
he needs to stop.
This is ridiculous.
It is difficult enough with two eyes.
He's going to do it with one?
Man, this is, this is insane.
JOE: So he has one eye that looks almost like cross-eyed,
and it's kinda black, like he's on ecstasy, like one
pupil's dilated.
It's very weird, and he doesn't give a fuck.
He's got that one eye fucked up, and he doesn't give
a shit.
He's still going in there and slinging.
That guy's born for this.
[♪♪♪]
ANNOUNCER: This is the main event of the evening.
JASON: His eye was a big part of, of our training.
And I would test it as well, because I wanted to know what
he was seeing and not seeing.
Believe me or not, but a lot of the movement and the
positioning, to how he would stand and move, I was always
kinda trying to work around keeping him at an angle where
his lead was kinda, focusing on where you're going.
DAZ: So he had to compensate for that by being absolutely
150% in every other area, and that's what he went
and did.
[applause]
MIKE: That's the Michael Bisping we have known
since 2006.
JON: Look at that.
Great cardio.
Combinations.
MIKE: Oh...
JON: Cung Le goes down.
Bisping looking to finish.
It is all over...
MICHAEL: Took some time off, had some problems.
This is what I'm capable of.
Believe me, I want to be world champion.
I know I have the tools.
We have to back it up.
This is the start of backing it up.
MICHAEL: Never ever, ever once did I contemplate throwing
the towel in.
Never once did the thought of quitting ever cross my mind.
Never once did I think, you know, "I could go blind".
I still had dreams I wanted to achieve.
I still wanted to be the world champion, and I wanted to set
my family up financially, and the only way I could do that
was by still fighting, so I was willing to risk everything
to, you know, to go and achieve those goals.
[applause]
MICHAEL: There's an idiot called Luke Rockhold who
doesn't stop talking about me.
I think he has the hots for me, to be honest.
Luke Rockhold, you called me out.
If you want to do it, let's dance.
Here I am.
MICHAEL: Luke and I, we have a bit of history, and to say
we don't like each other, I guess that's a bit
of an understatement.
MICHAEL: Luke Rockhold, I'm sure he's a nice enough guy.
I don't really know him.
I can't pretend to know him.
But what I do know is I was training for a fight.
He came down to help me spar.
My boxing coach, Jason Parillo, he,
he was friends with Luke.
JASON: People used to ask me about that sparring session,
I'm like, "I don't even talk about it," because
sparring is sparring.
Guys get their ass kicked and kick other guys' asses
all the time, you know.
It's in the gym, and It is what it is.
MICHAEL: I got the better of him.
I kicked his ass.
Whatever you wanna call it, you know.
And I was, you know, I was,
"Ah. Sweet".
I did a TV show in New York.
The host of the TV show knew I'd sparred Luke Rockhold, and
baring in mind Luke Rockhold was the Strikeforce champion.
He wasn't in the UFC.
He was in Strikeforce.
He was the Strikeforce champion, and the host said,
"How did that sparring match go?"
I said, "You can't really talk about sparring.
Well, let's put it like this.
I'm the unofficial Strikeforce champion".
So, and it was a joke.
You know.
It really was just a joke.
That's my sense of humour.
And yeah, you know, the little ego inside me wanted to put it
out there that I got the better of him, but it was just
a sparring match, and it was just a joke.
Well, he took offence to it.
You know, shortly after he was in the UFC, and he was going
around talking smack that I'd said that, and I did say that,
but it was a joke, and it was a funny line.
It got a laugh from everybody.
JASON: That right there kinda started the, the I don't like
you and you don't like me and we don't like each other.
CALLUM: He talked so much trash about us, about England,
about everything, so-.
MIESHA: The thing is is that fighters have strong
personalities, and you can't expect that everybody's going
to play nicely and everybody's gonna get along.
It's not realistic.
MAN: Okay.
Here we go.
Take 2.
Luke Rockhold.
LUKE: Yeah.
I don't.
I don't give a fuck what people think about the
situation and who's the good guy, who's the bad guy.
I know who I am, and I know who he is.
MICHAEL: And I remember at the time we did the show called
Counterpunch with Jon Anik, and we didn't like each other
already, but I'm telling you, after that, we hated
each other.
MICHAEL: I made an off-the-cuff remark.
I was having a laugh.
Okay?
LUKE: It's a tasteless remark.
MICHAEL: Well, whatever.
And I'll knock that smug look off your face, son.
Believe you me.
LUKE: I'll knock that weak little beard off your face too.
MICHAEL: Oh my God.
JASON: I think that's Rockhold's personality
to be totally honest.
I think, I don't know if he's the most understood guy.
I don't care who Michael Bisping's fighting, there's
gonna be some shit-talking, and Mike's gonna stir the pot,
you know, and that's just the way it is.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: The fight was in Australia, and that's my
wife's home country, and when I was walking out to the
octagon as usual, the arena felt absolutely electric.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Fight's started.
MICHAEL: I got head bumped.
Head bump.
Head bump, there.
HERB: Stop.
DAN: Michael, Michael Bisping complaining of a head butt.
MICHAEL: Boom.
He head butted me and opens the cut.
MICHAEL: That's the scar.
That's the cut, is a big deep cut.
From there the fight was downhill, all the way,
as I say.
Could only just, just see out a tiny bit if I turned
a certain way out of this eye.
Remember, the doctor only just cleared me.
This eye.
This eye, blood was pumping into it.
I couldn't see.
I'd wipe it.
Everything'd be red.
I'd blink a few times and I could see a little bit.
DAN: He's been wiping the blood out of his eye.
It seems to be bothering him a little bit.
JOHN: Yeah, the Count would be a little bit worried
about that.
Nice combination there.
LUKE: There's nothing really there, and so little by little
I found his timing.
DAN: Oh.
LUKE: Came back that second round and really kinda
was more aware.
DAN: Round number 2.
The cut on Michael Bisping's left eye does not look
like a good one.
LUKE: Found my shot right off the bat, and then started
working my kicks, and then I landed that ah-.
DAN: Straight left.
LUKE: Couple of my, my specialities.
DAN: Front leg.
Oh... A head kick.
Bisping's down.
JOHN: Good leg kick.
DAN: Oh my, could be it... This could be the finish...
MICHAEL: I guess I got kicked in the head and I didn't know
what was going on, and next minute I'm standing there
and the fight's over.
DAN: Takes mount position.
JOHN: Luke Rockhold.
DAN: Wow...
JOHN: What a mounted guillotine.
LUKE: I knew exactly what I was gonna do.
I did exactly what I was gonna do.
I told him I was gonna pick him up off the canvas.
Said, "You're gonna wake up.
I'm gonna fuckin' give you my hand.
I'm gonna pick you up off the canvas.
Dusted him off".
That's the difference between me and Michael.
MICHAEL: It just hurt inside, because I knew that wasn't the
best version of me, but by saying anything highlighted
that probably or maybe I shouldn't have been fighting.
So yeah, it was a fucked situation, if I'm honest.
I'm standing there against a world-class opponent,
one of the best to ever do it.
ARIEL: And I believe that was the first time that
Michael Bisping had ever been submitted, and that was
very notable.
At the time, I really did think that that was the end,
that maybe he would stick around for a couple more
fights, but you can't beat Luke Rockhold.
How are you ever going to find yourself back in the
title picture?
MICHAEL: I'll still fight.
I love doing this.
Me?
I'm going nowhere.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: It was shortly after my eye injury, that I remember
one morning I was running down here, and I look over, and I
see the Altarena, and I've had many fights there, many main
events, and then when I saw the arena, that just
hit home to me.
I thought, "I'm never gonna fight there again.
I'm never gonna fight.
I've got one fucking eye.
Got one eye, a bad knee, can hardly run on it.
And I stopped and, you know.
Yeah.
I was crying, I'm almost crying thinking about it now.
[throat clearing]
[laughing]
I am fucking crying, but yeah, no, it was, it was hard.
It was hard.
I thought, "I'm done.
I'm over.
I'm damaged.
I'm broken.
Can't do it anymore.
I did everything I could to get past those medicals, lied,
fuckin' conned people, lied through my fucking teeth,
cheated.
It wasn't for me.
It was for my family.
You know what I mean?
I want to give them everything I can, and that was only
through fighting, and giving up never, never entered
my mind for a second.
[♪♪♪]
ARIEL: I remember there was one moment in particular where
he laid out a plan.
He said, "I'm gonna beat CB Dolloway, then I'm gonna
fight this guy, then I'm gonna fight another guy, and around
this time next year, I'm gonna be a UFC middleweight
champion," and I remember sitting there, and kind of
thinking like, "Man, this is a little bit sad, because
this is not going to happen.
Mate, your career is not going in the right direction
any more.
You've got the eye issue.
It's just not going well.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: So what's going on right now?
LUCAS: Um, um, he set it up with cookies, and the carrots,
and I'm gonna set up the milk and beer.
MICHAEL: Who are the carrots for?
LUCAS: Um, reindeers.
MICHAEL: And the cookies are for who?
LUCAS: Santa.
MICHAEL: And who is the milk for?
LUCAS: Santa.
MICHAEL: And we're gonna give him a beer as well?
LUCAS: Yeah...
MICHAEL: Ah yeah, 'cause he might
get thirsty.
Alright, let's put some milk in this.
LUCAS: Okay...
MICHAEL: It was Christmas Eve.
I got a phone call from Dana White Christmas Eve,
and I'm, you know.
Dana's a good guy, but he doesn't usually call me on
Christmas Eve to wish me Merry Christmas, so I see Dana
on the phone, on the screen.
I'm like,
"Oh. What's this?"
MICHAEL: Oh.
Dana White.
Better take this one.
[sniffing]
MICHAEL: Damn.
My phone's not working.
Just approve.
I'm trying to answer.
It's dead.
It won't answer.
Bloody phone.
REBECCA: What?
MICHAEL: It won't... Ah, there we go.
Dana.
TV: Very, very strong for-.
MICHAEL: Hey.
What's up, buddy.
How you doing?
MICHAEL: Long story short.
He says, "Hey.
Change of opponent.
You're now fighting Anderson Silva".
So, I'm, "Oh.
Alright.
Cool".
He's like, "Yeah.
Merry Christmas".
The conversation, there was more to it than that.
He asked me if I wanted to take it, but of course I did.
I put the phone down, and I was elated.
MIKE: The greatest champion in UFC history.
MICHAEL: Anderson Silva was the most dominant champion
the sport had ever seen.
The way that he'd finish people was mind-blowing.
The way, the creativity of his striking, and all these type
of things, he was just, it was marvellous.
It was incredible.
It was beautiful, and I always wanted to fight that guy.
To fight in London, the nation's capitol against one
of the greatest fighters that ever lived, for me, it was
just incredible.
MICHAEL: Merry Christmas.
GROUP: Merry Christmas.
MICHAEL: Okay.
Say, "Bye".
LUCAS: Bye... Have a good holiday, and Merry Christmas.
BRENDAN: How about Bisping - Anderson Silva?
JOE: Ah, you know what?
BRENDAN: I was blowing your phone up during that.
JOE: Yeah man.
BRENDAN: Blowing you up.
JOE: You know what?
BRYAN: It was amazing.
JOE: I, first of all, Bisping is one of the toughest
fucking men on the planet.
BRENDAN: God.
MICHAEL: Yes.
It's a tough test for me, but I believe I will prevail.
I have to win.
I'm not getting any younger, and I want to fight
for the belt.
If I lose, this isn't good for my career.
I can't wait.
I'm super excited.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Before the fight, I was getting taped up,
and I remember I just felt so focused and ready.
I remember I saw Anderson.
He was walking out looking so loose and confident,
and you know, he should.
I mean, he's Anderson Silva.
[♪♪♪]
ARIEL: The atmosphere was amazing.
I remember him walking out to "Song 2" by Blur,
and the place was just absolutely on it's feet.
[♪♪♪]
JOHN: The main event of the evening.
Michael Bisping versus Anderson Silva.
ARIEL: I think a lot of us were a little worried, because
Anderson was still Anderson and sharp as hell and very
dangerous on his feet.
MICHAEL: Everyone thought I was stupid.
Everybody thought I was foolish, but I thought,
"I can beat this guy.
I know my style can beat this guy".
Always wanted to fight him.
[♪♪♪]
DAN: Don't even want to say anything, John, I'm right on
the end of my seat right now.
MICHAEL: Boom, I catch him with a left hook, and he uses
his hand to support himself to stop him going down,
and then the round ends.
JOHN: Bisping found the target very nicely indeed.
Silva looking to embrace.
MICHAEL: And then he comes over to give me a hug, as
if to say "Wow, good for you, you managed to land
some punches on the great Anderson Silva".
Don't play those games with me.
I'm not gonna fall for no mind games.
I'm not hugging you.
You're my fuckin' enemy.
So fuck off.
[♪♪♪]
DAN: Michael Bisping needs to be confident in his
punch placement.
The hesitation will cause him to miss.
MICHAEL: And he's doing this,
waiting for me.
So I'm here, tries to take a step back.
DAN: The difference being Michael Bisping
is considerably faster than Stephan Bonnar.
MICHAEL: When you fight, I'll fight.
But I'm not gonna play your games.
I'm not gonna fight a guy that's trying to mock me
by standing in a completely defenceless posture.
You know?
That's an embarrassment to me.
I'm not gonna play that game.
[♪♪♪]
DAN: Oh, and again...
MICHAEL: Falls down to the floor.
I'm like "Holy shit, here we go".
I run down.
JOHN: Anderson goes down for a second, but an upper cut
from Michael Bisping.
MICHAEL: And I just start teeing off on him.
Ground and pound.
I'm going to the body, I'm going to the head.
Finished the round really strong.
JOHN: This definitely puts him in control in this fight so far.
This is exactly where Michael wants to be going into
the third round.
[♪♪♪]
DAN: Silva is looking to close the distance.
MICHAEL: My mouth piece, my gum shield, ptwh,
went out of my mouth.
You know, and Anderson Silva's known for being
a devastating striker.
And my mouth piece has come out.
I want it back in.
There's a reason we ware them.
DAN: Anderson Silva style, there's the thai clinch.
MICHAEL: This is my bad eye, okay?
Don't see out of this eye.
I turn.
I say "Ref, my mouth piece," pointing down there.
And as I do that, I can't see Anderson there.
Right?
I can't even see my hand right in front of my face.
I can't see that at all.
That doesn't exist to me.
So Anderson didn't exist.
I go "Ref," and then as I do that, I look around
and he's fucking in mid-air.
Boom...
DAN: Oh...
Jumping knee...
Michael goes down...
[♪♪♪]
DAZ: We're screaming at the top of the cage.
The fight's not over to Herb Dean.
MICHAEL: As the knee lands, the round ends.
And the referee comes over, Herb Dean.
And I look at him, and I go, I'm not out.
And he says "Yeah, I know.
Fight's still on.
The fight's not over".
And I slowly get back to my feet.
Anderson's on top of the fence.
He's celebrating.
DAN: Anderson Silva is convinced that this fight
is over, but Herb Dean is saying it's not.
JOHN: Well and that's Michael Bisping.
[♪♪♪]
JOHN: The fight's not over.
MICHAEL: People always say "Oh yeah, could you
imagine the adrenaline dump that Anderson went
through, right?
Ooh, he won his fight and he jumped on top of the cage and
then he found out he hadn't won the fight and the fight
was still going on.
He had a huge adrenalin dump".
Can you imagine getting kneed in the fucking face, and your
brain nearly being knocked off your shoulders and your face
being split open a million different ways and
blood pouring out.
I think that adrenaline dump is a little bit worse.
I mean call me stupid, but so that always kind of bothered
me when people say that.
DAZ: When he gets up for round four against Anderson Silva,
Mike's unconscious.
He doesn't know what day it is.
He doesn't even know where he is.
JASON: This fucking guy.
This fucking guy right here man is just special, man.
It's another animal.
You know, I could see his determination through his eyes.
You know?
And he only had one of 'em.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Anyway, round four starts, no cut man, fuck it.
Let's go.
DAN: Michael Bisping is not giving Anderson Silva
an inch here.
MICHAEL: I out-boxed the guy, backed him up against the
fence here.
He's there, he's trying to throw shots but I was putting
together 6-7 punch combinations, backing off
just when I had to.
JOHN: Although Anderson Silva looks like he's playing,
Michael Bisping is landing shots here.
JASON: Round four, we got one more to go, okay?
Listen, we're still gonna win this fight, Mike.
MICHAEL: Jason Perillo had said the things that
I needed to hear.
I'm tired.
I'm hurt.
My face is falling apart.
You know?
But I'm like, he's gonna have to kill me.
If he wants to win this fight, there's no way I'm gonna quit.
I've never been beaten in England.
I've walked in with the Union Jack over my shoulders.
I've got 20,000 people at the most iconic arena
in the world.
The O2 Arena in London.
If he thinks it's gonna take a few cuts on my face for me
to quit, he doesn't know who I am.
JOHN: Do you want to continue?
Of course you want to continue.
Are you Michael Bisping?
Of course you want to continue.
[♪♪♪]
JOHN: Oh! Front kick from Anderson Silva!
MICHAEL: And he hits me, I kind of go down and hit the floor.
I catch myself.
[♪♪♪]
JOHN: And it is met by a huge cheer from the London crowd.
MICHAEL: And I'm standing there and I'm thinking
"Fuck, fuck, come on.
Please".
Biggest fight of my life.
Everybody always said "Great fighter, good
fighter, but he can never win the big ones".
I'm like, "Come on, come on!"
All of a sudden.
MAN: For the winner by unanimous decision,
Michael "The Count" Bisping...
ARIEL: Michael Bisping is tougher than a $2 steak.
He is hard to put away.
He is hard to finish.
He is a brawler.
MICKEY: See, that's what makes Michael so god damned
dangerous is his will to win.
I think the fan base that Michael has proves it.
In the beginning, used to think "Oh, this arrogant
guy running around telling everybody 'fuck you,
blah blah'," you know.
All those people that hated him now love him.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: For me, that was my World Title Fight.
It was in England.
It was in London, the nation's capital.
20,000 English fans screaming, going crazy.
Every fibre in my body, every ounce of grit, determination
that I had, I had to muster to win that fight.
JASON: Beating Anderson Silva was just something that Mike
dreamed about for many years.
It's something that, you know, anybody in that industry,
any coach would love to have a victory over Anderson Silva.
Any fighter would love to have a victory over Anderson Silva.
I mean there's one of the greatest fighters of all time.
KATHLEEN: And he run down from the ring and give me a kiss.
And Becky was behind, he give her a kiss as well
and run back up.
But yeah.
He's like that.
[♪♪♪]
JOE: That's it, that's it.
We got a new champion.
ANNOUNCER: Luke Rockhold is the new UFC Middleweight
Champion of the World...
JOE: Wow.
[♪♪♪]
AGUSTUS: A device that controls every military
satellite in the world has fallen into the hands of
four very dangerous guys.
[♪♪♪]
WOMAN: We need someone who can move like them.
MICHAEL: I booked a movie on the XXX: Return of Xander Cage
with Vin Diesel.
XANDER: Damn that feels good to be back.
MICHAEL: Samuel L Jackson, Ice Cube.
Big movie.
And I was in Toronto for almost three months
filming that.
SCOTT: XXX, yeah, I'll tell you about XXX.
A part had become available to be a good guy with
Tony Jaa and Donnie Yen.
Now I've worked with Tony Jaa and Donnie Yen now, but at the
time, I hadn't worked with either of them, and I really
wanted to work with them.
And I wanted to work with Vin Diesel as well of course.
And being a big film like XXX, come on.
I did a great audition.
I thought it was great, and thought "I stand a good
chance of getting this," and then eventually,
I get the phone call.
"Yeah, they've given it to Michael Bisping."
Fucking bastard.
Michael Bisping, you fuck.
I mean, I'm a big fan of you, Mike, but what the fuck?
Come on, mate.
You're taking my roles.
I was pissed off.
VIN: You never know where you're gonna find your talent.
You never know where you're going to find your talent.
VIN: So the irony is that I first was introduced to
Michael Bisping as an actor.
And I critiqued him with, on that merit alone, and I was
impressed with what he had done in his audition tape.
And then discovered about who he was.
[♪♪♪]
WOMAN: The injury bug strikes again.
This time, it's Chris Weidman who is out of the Middleweight
title fight against Luke Rockhold, originally set
the headline UFC 199.
ARIEL: Weidman ends up getting hurt, and the UFC is left
without an opponent for Luke Rockhold, and the card is
around like, 2 1/2 weeks away.
And I've never shared this before, but it is the truth.
I found out that the fight was off, and I told
Michael Bisping that he should get very vocal, and he should
probably call the UFC and ask for this fight before anyone
knew that the fight was even available.
Because I knew how much he wanted it.
If you really want a title shot, this might be the way
you get it.
MICHAEL: So I text Dana right then and there.
And I think it was something along the lines of
"If none of those pussies can make it to the octagon,
you know where I am".
And he sent back a nice message.
You know, but he said Jacare, another fighter, Jacare's
our first option.
If he doesn't want it, you're next.
And I thought well, I'm not getting the fight, because
there's no way Jacare's going to turn down a title shot.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Get out of bed the next day.
My phone, bing bing bing bing, starts lighting up like
a Christmas tree.
I'm like "What the hell?"
And I look, and all these tweets, and then I get a
phone call from Ariel Helwani, and I answer the phone.
He says, "Congrats".
I'm like, "Congrats for what?"
MAN: I've got some breaking news here,
so let's get to it.
Dana, who is it?
Who's gonna fight Luke Rockhold in UFC 199?
DANA: The next guy in line is Michael Bisping.
MICHAEL: [laughing]
Really?
I mean, number 1, it was great news.
He hadn't told me.
This is the first I'm finding out, and if I had of known,
I wouldn't have had a couple of beers the night before,
so I was like, "Shit".
I check my weight.
I get on the scale.
It was like 215 pounds.
I've got 2 weeks to weight 185 pounds, so 30 pounds.
I'm like, "Shit".
So, alright.
I'm panicking, my head's spinning, I've gotta run.
I've gotta run.
So I run out in the city.
I throw my backpack over my shoulders, and I'm just
running through the city, and then Dana calls, and I'm
on the phone to Dana while still running.
DANA: Bisping would never say, "No".
Bisping is a fighter.
He's, he's... This is what he was born to do, 'cause
there's a lot of guys that try to pull some real stupid
bullshit when you call and try to get them to fight last
minute, and they're actually real dirty about it.
Bisping was never dirty about it.
Bisping was always smooth in the way he handled himself.
MICHAEL: And as I'm running, I start thinking,
"I don't believe this.
This is so typical of my career.
I've wanted a title fight my entire life, and here I am,
and in true Michael Bisping fashion, I get it on 2-weeks
notice against a guy that already beat me.
I haven't been near a gym".
You know, "I had a couple of drinks last night, and I've
got- And I've still got to finish filming 'xXx'
before I go home, and then focus on the fight'".
VIN: It was preposterous, for him, to take a fight in
11 days, with a formidable fighter, like Luke Rockhold.
It was a preposterous thought.
ARIEL: And I think Rockhold kind of hand-picked Bisping
because he bet him so easily the first time and felt like,
"K. 2 1/2 week notice.
The guy's out there filming a movie.
I'm just gonna smoke him again.
This is great.
This is a perfect title defence for me.
MICHAEL: I call my coach, Jason Perillo.
I'm telling him how I feel.
He said, "Michael.
What are you talking about?"
He said, "You've been training your entire life
for this moment".
He said, "You just beat the greatest of all time
in Anderson Silva just a few months ago".
He said, "You fight all the time".
He said, "The training is done".
He said, "You're in shape.
You look after yourself".
He said, "We can get you ready in a couple of weeks,
but stop having these negative thoughts".
He said, "We're gonna win this fucking fight".
I thought, "You know, I'm actually in pretty good shape,
so yeah.
Let's do this.
Let's go win a fucking world title".
[♪♪♪]
LUKE: There's 2 weeks left to train, and I wanted to go make
a big statement, you know, and it was a big fight
at the time.
It is what it is.
We're gonna get after it, and we're gonna fight.
[♪♪♪]
ARIEL: It seemed like Rockhold was loving life as champion.
I remember him renting out this mansion.
It was in California.
It just seemed like he was very confident going in to
that fight, and he had every right to be confident, because
he had beaten him not that long ago in very
dominant fashion.
LUKE: I knocked him out and choked him out last time, and-.
WOMAN: Jeez.
LUKE: It's gonna be hard to top that, but I'll do what I can.
MAN: [laughing]
What's left [indistinct]
LUKE: I'm gonna knock his eye back straight.
MAN: That's [indistinct]
MAN: Oh my God.
LUKE: I tried to just completely disrespect him and
find a way to market this fight, so I was doing
everything I can, and obviously being through or
going through what I was going through, I just.
I did what I could.
LUKE: Oh.
You like that, little bitch?
MAN: Boom.
LUKE: How about that one?
MICHAEL [on TV]: After that fight, dusted myself off.
I've tried-.
LUKE: [imitating Michael] I dusted myself off
and I came back and I fought.
[laughing]
You ain't gonna dust yourself off, off, after this one.
LUKE: You trying to promote a fight, and you know, I got,
I got caught up in the promotion of it, and almost, you know,
really believed what I was saying, and kind of forced it
into my mind that I needed to do all these things.
LUKE: If you believe in something.
If you know something's gonna happen.
If you confident in that situation, you will achieve
things in life.
Believe it and you achieve it.
I know that I'm better than this-.
MICHAEL: Sounds like no self-help book you've
ever read.
Concieve, believe, achieve.
Shut the fuck up.
DANA: [laughing]
MICHAEL: Listen.
It is my destiny.
I "believe", Luke.
I "believe".
[♪♪♪]
[leather striking]
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Day of the fight.
Felt fantastic.
You know, I was backstage.
I was, just felt great, you know.
There's good days and bad days, and everything
was just clicking.
I felt awesome.
Yeah, there was no one out there saying I was
going to win.
That's for sure.
You know, and fuck 'em.
They don't know me.
They don't know my journey.
They don't know what I'm capable of.
ARIEL: It felt like he knew something that we all
couldn't see.
He was so confident.
LUKE: Got to The Forum, and, I was overly relaxed.
I was so focused on going out there and just having
absolutely no respect for Bisping and forcing a fight,
like I said, that I don't need to force.
BRUCE: A fighter's about to go out and put his blood, sweat,
and tears on the line.
There's certain fighters that react in different ways.
I would be very surprised if anybody including
Michael Bisping is not nervous, a little nervous in the
service to whatever level before they walk out.
LUKE: Fighting is, it's one of the biggest rushes and thrills
you can ever encounter.
It's as scary as it gets, and it's as rewarding as it gets.
It's exciting as it gets.
You'll never feel anything like it.
BRUCE: I mean, you're about to go to war.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: He comes in.
He's being all goofy, and he's just trying to act too cool,
you know, and I'm like, "Fuck this guy".
[♪♪♪]
BRUCE: It's time...
ELLIE: For me, growing up
with my dad being a fighter, um, obviously it was
scary watching him fight, but, um, it was just kinda normal,
because it's all I've seen him do since he started when
I was so young, so.
Yeah, it was just, became normal to me.
CALLUM: I was really nervous for that fight, 'cause
obviously, you know, 2-weeks notice, he already lost
to Rockhold, so.
BRUCE: Introducing first, the challenger-.
MICHAEL: During the introduction to the fight-.
BRUCE: "The Count".
MICHAEL: I have never felt so confident in my life.
BRUCE: Bisping...
MICHAEL: The game plan was to look for
the left hook.
You know, plain and simple.
Perillo had noticed in a number of his videos,
number one, he'll tall.
Tall people generally tent to carry their chins quite high,
and he had this right hand low, 'cause he's a cocky son
of a bitch, and then when your chin's high and your hands are
low, boom, that left hand is there all day.
MICHAEL: Referee says, "You can touch gloves now
if you want".
I said, "Hey.
Come on".
He says, "No touch".
I said, "What's that?"
He says, "No touch".
I said, "Oh.
No touch, buddy".
MICHAEL: Yeah, buddy?
JOHN: I want you to fight clean.
MICHAEL: No touch?
JOHN: Fight hard.
You want to touch now?
Go ahead.
MICHAEL: No touch?
Fuckin' touch?
JOHN: Good luck to both of ya.
MICHAEL: No touch?
I'll touch you in a second, mother fucker.
JOHN: You ready?
Are you ready?
Let's get it on.
JOE: Good straight left by Bisping.
MICHAEL: Voom, voom, vo-.
Trying to knock the mother fucker out, and I'm swinging.
JASON: Try to sneak that in there a little bit more.
JOE: Rockhold has his chin straight up in the air.
LUKE: I just start running forward and just trying to
bang, trying, trying to land shots.
PAUL: The more Rockhold throws those kicks, especially to the
legs, the less movement we're gonna see from Bisping,
and that's his trademark.
JOE: He just dug one into the body.
Michael might be hurt.
MICHAEL: Never really felt it.
Commentator said,
"Oh. That one might've hurt Bisping".
Not really.
I'm here.
And I'm looking for that left hook.
I'm swinging a couple of times and they just missed.
PAUL: Rockhold has this air of invincibility mentally
right now as well.
Never more confident.
MICHAEL: And Jason was like, "The left hook.
The left hook, Michael.
That's what gonna land.
That's what's gonna get it done in this fight".
[♪♪♪]
JOE: Oh.
He hurt him.
PAUL: Oh.
He got rocked...
MICHAEL: That hook to the body.
Left hook over the top.
"Holy shit".
He just [whistling]
He hits the ground, and I'm like, "Wow.
Shit.
I don't believe it.
He's down".
And he gets back up, and I'm like, "No, you don't, buddy".
Bang.
[crowd cheering]
MICHAEL: Bang.
Hard fucking shots.
[applause]
MICHAEL: Jason Perillo sat there in the corner and just,
did that.
It was so fucking cool.
[applause]
PAUL: Michael Bisping is the new UFC Middleweight Champion
of the World...
JOE: Oh my goodness.
MICHAEL: The fight is over and I'm the new middleweight
champion of the world.
I jump on top of the cage.
I'm celebrating.
REBECCA: It was the world recognizing his achievements
and all the sacrifices that he'd made.
All the injuries that he'd had.
MICHAEL: My wife come running in.
The children, Callum and Ellie, my manager.
JOE: Oh my goodness.
[♪♪♪]
JOE: That's why this is a crazy sport,
ladies and gentlemen.
DAZ: Michael Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold blind
in one eye.
He was blind in one eye.
There's no ifs, no buts.
There's nothing about it.
He goes blind in one eye.
GEORGE: Michael has always been an underdog all his life,
and he proved everybody wrong.
I wanted to be like him, and be able to inspire people
like Michael Bisping did.
JAN: And I actually had tears pouring down my face.
I was so happy.
The emotion was incredible.
VIN: I'm smiling because this anecdote, that is his
life-changing anecdote, includes a phone call
to me on that day.
In some small way I can feel like I was a part of that
moment in history.
RASHAD: I kind of still get emotional just thinking about it,
just because he went out there and he became champion, man.
BRUCE: The new undisputed UFC Middleweight Champion
of the World.
RASHAD: The way he did it and, he made me proud, man.
He made me proud that we had that fight that day, man.
Yeah.
[♪♪♪]
JOE: This is a very peculiar style of fighting 'cause...
Oh, he head kicked him.
Oh, he hurt him...
PAUL: It is all over!
Dan Henderson with a knockout...
MICHAEL: So I fought Luke Rockhold,
UFC 199 on Saturday.
On the Monday morning, I was still hungover from Saturday
night, and I get a phone call from the UFC, it was
Dana White.
And they offered me a rematch against Dan Henderson.
Obviously he knocked me out at UFC 100.
He'd fought on the same card where I'd beat Luke Rockhold.
Had a great knockout.
So they said "Let's do a rematch, you versus
Dan Henderson in Manchester".
MICHAEL: Dana called me two days after the fight,
said "We want to do Dan Henderson".
I said "Yeah, sure, line him up.
Fred Flintstone's gonna get knocked out".
DAN: This fight came about mostly because of the fans.
Because of what I did to him.
It felt damn good knocking out Michael Bisping.
MICHAEL: Of course as a fighter, you know, you've
got to ooze bravado.
You've got to sell the fight.
You've got to be confident, say you're gonna win.
But you can't lie to yourself.
And I knew the last time I stepped into an octagon with
that man, he knocked me out, and the whole world
laughed at me.
The self-doubt starts to creep in.
You know, and as I say, you can lie to all the journalists
and the press and your opponent and everybody.
Oh yeah, and you're like, oh yeah, don't worry, I got this,
I got this.
You can lie to all them.
But you can't lie to yourself.
But you've got to put all of that to the back of your mind
and walk out there, step in an octagon, and fight.
[♪♪♪]
MIKE: Bisping and Henderson will finally do battle.
JOE: And this right here is revenge.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Went out there.
It was a tough fight.
He caught me with a big right hand in the first round.
Boom.
Actually broke my orbital bone on this side, and I gave him
a little smile.
I was dominating the fight, I was winning the fight, I was
outboxing him, outstriking him, putting together
fluid combinations.
Redemption for all those people that mocked me
on the internet.
[♪♪♪]
BRUCE: And still, the undisputed UFC middleweight
champion of the world.
MICHAEL: Only ever British champion to defend the belt
in Manchester.
It was a dream come true, and it's an experience
I will never ever forget.
I'll take it to the grave with me.
[♪♪♪]
GEORGES: When I stopped 2014, I knew it was very big
possibility that I will, I would come back.
MIKE: GSP is back.
He is returning to the octagon.
UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden.
GEORGES: My trainer always told me, he said,
"Georges.
You're too much of a nice guy.
There's no drama involved, you know?
You're too much like, like a robot,
and need more drama".
Now, I'm attempting to do something new and fight
Michael Bisping.
He's the winnest fighter in UFC at the time, great
career as a champion.
That's the reason why I came back and fight
Michael Bisping.
MICHAEL: Georges.
You think you're gonna come back, step up a weight class
and take my belt?
You're out of your God damn mind.
[♪♪♪]
GEORGES: One moment during the promotional tour, we're on a
set doing an interview, and we're going back and forth,
and he's insulting me.
That's one of the things that you can say about
Michael Bisping.
He knows the fight game.
He knows how to create those moments.
GEORGES: You still have your sunglasses on, Michael?
MICHAEL: No.
I took 'em off for you, dickhead.
I'm on the next dog park.
Come and see me.
MICHAEL: See, if anyone spends fucking 5 minutes talking to
Georges St-Pierre, you wanna fucking kill yourself.
GEORGES: Fuck this.
Fuck that.
Damn you.
Ah, fuck, pussy, wah, way.
That's all you got to say?
GEORGES: Create those emotion moment to drive the promotion,
to sell the fight.
[laughing]
MICHAEL: These are the Irish Bispings.
MICHAEL: Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick.
WOMAN: See?
I knew that was gonna happen.
MICHAEL: Quick.
MAN: Yes.
WOMAN: Real quick.
Alright.
I gotta go.
MICHAEL: What do we say?
Who wins?
Me or GSP?
MAN: You, easy.
MICHAEL: Come on.
MAN: You easy...
MAN 2: Come on, champ.
Are you, you're just saying that.
MAN 2: Don't let him wrestle you.
MICHAEL: Thanks for the advice.
I didn't think of that one.
[laughing]
MICHAEL: I'm the headline of Madison Square Garden.
Place was sold out.
There was fans everywhere, you know.
It was big.
It was huge.
It was definitely the pinnacle of my career, the biggest
fight I've ever had.
MAN: I am so fucking excited to be here at Madison Square
Garden tomorrow night.
Michael Bisping is gonna tear GSP's head off.
It's gonna be fucking insane.
MAN: I've come here from the UK to watch
Michael Bisping fight.
He can scramble, and he's got the jab, and the good looks
of a British man.
Fucking Michael Bisping, ladies and gentlemen.
Michael fucking Bisping.
DANIEL: Oh.
[indistinct] by Bisping.
GEORGES: After that, that punch, I was on
cruise control.
JOE: Oh... Right hand over the top by Bisping.
GEORGES: To be very humble, I could have lost because
of that punch.
MICHAEL: It didn't go my way.
Georges choked me out in the 3rd round and took my belt,
but he's the greatest of all time, you know.
No regrets.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: This was the biggest fight of the year.
One of the biggest UFC fight ever, and just to be a part
of it, you know, I was immensely proud.
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: After I lost the belt to GSP, I, you know,
I hung around New York for a few days drinking,
hanging out with my family.
Came home, you know, eating like a fat sod, and then
Anderson Silva failed the steroid test.
He was out of his fight.
They needed a replacement for his opponent, Kelvin Gastelum.
Number 1, I think I could beat the guy.
Secondly, let's get another pay day.
Why not?
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: Long story short, I lose the fight.
Boom, get get called for shots.
MICHAEL: I don't know if it was that shot or
maybe that was just the icing on the cake, after taking
thousands and thousands of punches, and I thought,
"Well, I've had the bad luck.
Lightening doesn't strike twice.
I'm never gonna get a detached retina in my good eye.
Oh my God.
I don't believe this.
Everything what the doctors had warned me my entire
career, is now happened".
I couldn't believe it.
And you know, yeah, it was a detached retina, but I got a
vitreous detachment.
This is someone's good eye, and now, in my good eye,
I have a condition known as a partial vitreous detachment.
It's where the vitreous shrinks and separates from the retina,
which impairs your vision and can lead to blindness.
And then I was flying to New York, was gonna film,
ah record an episode of my podcast, and I watched this
movie on the plane called, "The Journeyman" with
Paddy Considine, and it's about a world champion boxer
that wins a fight, goes home, he has brain damage, and it's
a very powerful sad story, and you know, he, at one point he
puts his baby in the tumble dryer because his brain's
all messed, you know.
He doesn't know what he's doing, you know.
And I sat there watching this movie on the plane, balling
my eyes out, crying, you know, and I just thought,
"What am I doing?"
You know, "This, this isn't worth it,"
and a good friend of mine, Jason, said to me, he said,
"Michael," he said, "If you went blind,
you would give every penny you had to ever, to be able to
see again," you know, and I thought, "He's right,"
and I got off that plane and went and did my podcast and
announced on my podcast that I was retired.
LUIS: You wanted to, to make an announcement on
today's show.
MICHAEL: Unfortunately, it's not a fight that I'm announcing.
I am going to announce my official retirement from
mixed martial arts.
DANA: Bisping is a fighter, man.
You know, toward the end of his career, he won the title,
and he fought nothing but the best, and the thing is, with
Bisping, he fought the best his whole career.
KENNY: What you do becomes your identity, and to say,
"Goodbye," to it means to say goodbye to your self.
DANA: Normal human beings like you and I will never know what
it's like to walk through a tunnel, you know, with 20,000
people cheering you or booing you or whatever the
story might be.
That's a high that we'll never know and never feel ever in
our lifetime, and that's what you were put on this earth
to do, and now you have to walk away?
It's hard.
LAURA: Former middleweight champion,
Michael "The Count" Bisping will be inducted to the
UFC Hall of Fame.
It is an honour he is so deserving of, and on behalf of
fans around the world, my self included, Michael, we
thank you for everything that you have given us.
A career that is truly legendary.
[♪♪♪]
JOE: I think Mike stands out as being, without a doubt,
one of the most durable and toughest guys to have ever
fought inside the octagon.
MIESHA: He's a multi-talented individual, and I think people
will always remember Michael Bisping as, as being
somebody who made a difference in the sport of MMA.
VIN: I've never in my life heard of a fighter walk into
a ring in any kind of sport, let alone the deadliest sport,
right?
Mixed Martial Arts.
With one eye.
Ever.
If you ask Muhammad Ali.
If you asked Joe Lewis if a person could walk in a ring
with one eye, they'd say, "You can't".
But he did, and he won.
DANA: Bisping is a fighter.
Bisping will fight at the drop of a hat.
Anybody.
He doesn't care who you are, how tough you think you are,
how tough you really are.
If you think you're better than him, you think you
can beat him?
Bisping's down to find out.
MICKEY: I can beat Michael Bisping.
This is the only way I can beat Michael Bisping.
[laughing]
Betty Lou.
It's easy to have a friend like that, because I have
so much, so much respect for the man.
JASON: Calls me up to be on a radio show, and he starts it
off to thank me.
I could cry right now thinking about it, because, as a coach,
when the athletes remember what the fuck you told them,
when athletes remember what you do for them?
It's a different animal, because I did cry.
I cried in the phone right there.
I couldn't even talk.
I was, like I said, I could cry right now.
Michael Bisping doesn't forget.
DAZ: Everything that he does, everything, is for that family
and them kids and his missus.
He's not some, some gangster.
He's not some, some knucklehead.
He's a family man that dreampt a dream and lived it.
[applause]
[♪♪♪]
MICHAEL: You know, this has changed my life in such a way
you will never believe, you know, but my dream was always
giving a better life to my family, okay?
And that's all I ever wanted.
CALLUM: I'm really, really appreciative, so I would say,
"Thank you".
Just sacrificing his health, you know.
Everything.
So.
Just thank you.
REBECCA: For the love that he has for me and for the kids,
that's his only motivation in life.
MICHAEL: I must've been 10 years old, "I'm gonna
be champion of the world one day".
But that always stuck with me, you know, always kept me
pushing on and working hard.
So many ups and downs, peaks and valleys.
Beyond satisfying, but more for my family, you know,
'cause as I said, "They'd sacrificed with me".
For me, the sacrifice was easy, because I'm chasing
my dream.
To support me, and go through the ups and downs with me,
yeah, it was big.
[applause]
[♪♪♪]
[applause]
[♪♪♪]