Confident Bisping returns to England to face Akiyama in UFC 120
After beginning his career 14-0, Michael Bisping has lost three times in his past seven fights.
None of those defeats occurred in front of his home fans in England, where he has won all 15 of his professional bouts.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight hopes to keep that streak alive when he takes on Yoshihiro Akiyama in the main event of UFC 120 in London on Saturday.
The 31-year-old from Manchester knows he has an edge fighting in front of a partisan crowd but doesn’t know how much advantage he gains.
“I’m not sure if it is a factor. Obviously, when I fight in England, the crowd is fantastic, and they get behind me, and that feels very special,” he said. “I suppose maybe it does come into it a little bit. I mean, I always feel an extra incentive to perform and give the fans what they came to see.”
With the support comes pressure.
Bisping, who was named Britain’s coolest man in a 2008 magazine poll — ahead of such superstars as actor Daniel Craig, soccer star David Beckham and Noel Gallagher, lead guitarist of Oasis — knows many fans at O2 Arena will be there specifically to cheer for him.
“I want them to go home happy. It’s like if you go and watch your favorite football team and they lose, you go home feeling deflated,” he said. “I don’t want them to come see me, and pay out their hard-earned money to see a fight that I lose, and then they go home having a bad night. Also, I don’t want to lose, either.”
Bisping knows once he gets in the cage, the crowd can do little to help him.
“Ultimately, I’ve still got to get in there and knock them out on my own,” he said. “My last fight in Las Vegas, the crowd wasn’t exactly supportive, but I still got the win, I still got the job done.”
That victory was vital to his hopes of remaining in contention for a title. Before his victory over Dan Miller in May, Bisping had lost two of three fights and was in danger of falling well off the radar in the middleweight division.
While Bisping is not back in the title picture, he thinks he has found the right mindset that will help him get there.
“In the past, I’ve talked about wanting to be the champion and I’m going to be the world champion and all this type of stuff. And if I’m honest, in the past, maybe I didn’t truly believe it. I was just saying it because it was the thing you were supposed to say,” he said. “I’ve got to put up or shut up. It’s all well and good me sitting here talking about it. People don’t want to hear that; they want to see results. And that’s what I’m planning on delivering on (Saturday).”
In Akiyama, he will meet a fighter who came to the UFC with immense fanfare and has delivered a pair of thrilling bouts but has just one controversial split-decision win and one submission loss to show for it.
The Japanese superstar and judo specialist worked for a time in this camp with Greg Jackson, one of the most respected coaches in all of mixed martial arts, but Bisping isn’t too concerned.
“I don’t feel a couple of weeks at Greg Jackson’s is ultimately going to make much difference to how he performs,” Bisping said. “I’ve looked at Akiyama. I’ve looked at his style. I look at the way he fights, and I’m positive I can beat him.”
The card, which also features a welterweight showdown between Dan Hardy and Carlos Condit, will air tape delayed on Spike (Cable 29) at 8 p.m.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.
