Michael Bisping and Anderson Silva went to war for five rounds in London last night, with the British star edging out the decision over the Brazilian UFC legend and potentially earning himself a title shot in the process.
The Lancashire lad edged out the former middleweight champ over the 25 minutes, as they went back and forth, trading leather in an absolute barn burner of a bout.
Michael Bisping attempted to dictate the pace of the fight early, as Anderson Silva looked to counter strike, and taunted his opponent in classic fashion, reports the Mirror.
The two traded blows to end the first round and, in the second, Bisping actually dropped Silva with a left hook and the crowd came to its feet as Bisping followed his foe to the mat, but he was unable to finish the job.
Then, Silva thought he had the bout won at the end of the third round. As Bisping temporarily took his eye off the ball when his gumshield fell out of his mouth, Silva landed a jumping knee to the chin of the Brit and dropped him to the canvas.
Unfortunately for ‘The Spider’, he landed the controversial knee as the buzzer for the end of the round sounded.
It made for a bizarre moment as Silva climbed the cage in celebration, as officials desperately tried to explain to the Brazilian that the fight was still continuing.
Calm was eventually restored and the fight continued, as Bisping returned to the front foot in the fourth round, after recovering from an accidental low blow.
Most viewers had the fight even going into the fifth, and the final round didn’t disappoint, as the two went back and forth once more.
Silva landed a beautiful front kick which wobbled ‘The Count’, but a seriously bloodied up Bisping recovered and used his jab brilliantly to keep ‘The Spider’ at bay.
Overall, it was a bit of a classic and the verdict from the judges was that Bisping had edged out the fight three rounds to two, with all three Octagon-side judges unanimously awarding ‘The Count’ the bout with 48-47 scores.
Speaking after the win, Bisping said:
I don’t know [if this is my greatest victory]. I wanted this fight my entire life. You guys [the fans] give me the power. I’m just a guy from a normal background but you guys have been in my corner every time.
I worship this guy [Silva], he’s the greatest martial artist of all time. The respect I have for you cannot be measured. I’ve always wanted a shot, I thought I’d do better than this, I didn’t think I would end up looking like this.
For his part, Silva thanked the fans in London, but was frustrated with the judges’ decision, calling it ‘corrupt’.
UFC President Dana White was one of those who felt that Silva should have earned the decision and the debate over who should have won is likely to rage on and on.
For Bisping, however, it was easily the biggest win of his career and it meant he remained undefeated on British shores, with a title shot and a potential rematch with 185lbs champ Luke Rockhold possibly in his future.
If that happens, we hope the UFC bring the title fight to the UK, so we can see Bisping fight for the belt in front of a British crowd!
