[UFC 110]: Nogueira vs Velasquez - il fantasma del KO subito da Henderson tormenta Bisping (21/02/2010)
Bisping, the season three winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” and a mainstay of the promotion’s push into the U.K., faces vicious striker Wanderlei Silva in a featured middleweight bout in the UFC’s first event in Sydney, Australia.
And although the 30-year-old fighter delivered a strong come-from-behind victory against former Pride and Spirit MC star Denis Kang at UFC 105 in November, it’s the second-round knockout Bisping received at the hands of Dan Henderson at UFC 100 last July that’s continually broached in interviews.
“I’ve got to be honest that it kind of pisses me off (with) people going on about that all the time, as if I’m stupid,” said Bisping during a conference call on Wednesday for the Feb. 20 event.
In particular, Bisping, who is already in Sydney acclimating to the event’s Sunday morning start time, politely proclaimed that he’s had his fill of questions regarding his decision to circle into Henderson’s power right hand.
“Obviously, when you’re fighting an opponent, you move to their weak side,” said Bisping. “But, sometimes in a fight, if the guy’s cutting you off or you’re taking some big shots, they leave you with no option but to go that way. Sometimes, after taking a few shots, you’re fighting on instinct as well.”
Bisping, who received a swell of negative feedback from U.S. fans for his portrayal as an assured coach opposite Henderson on TUF 9, said he learned valuable lessons from the climatic bout.
“Before that fight, I was of the impression that I could go out there and stand with anyone for three rounds and not get knocked out. Obviously, that wasn’t the case,” he said. “I got knocked out, which I wasn’t planning on doing, so I had to look at that and work out why I got knocked out and fill in those holes.
“What I learned as well was not to be too worried about your opponent,” added Bisping. “You have to focus on what you want to do. Don’t dwell too much on what they’re going to do, focus on what you’re going to do and make them worry about you.”
When asked, Bisping admitted he was disappointed when the top-5 ranked Henderson decided to leave the UFC for a four-fight, 16-month deal with rival promotion Strikeforce last November.
“Obviously, that’s the only knockout on my record and even though it was a bad fight for me that night -- and all credit to Dan Henderson, who did a great job -- I still feel I could beat him on another night,” he said. “It was a poor performance and I’d love to get a rematch. Obviously, that won’t happen anytime in the near future.”
In other notes:
• On preparing for Silva’s wild, come-forward style: “What you’ve got to do is try and bring in similar style partners, you know? One thing that England isn’t short of is there’s lots of brawlers. We didn’t have to look too far to bring in guys that like to swing a lot and all out brawl. The gym where I train, the Wolfslair, seems to be full of them.”
• On having Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who avenged two losses to Silva at UFC 92 in December 2008, in his corner: “Having Rampage in my camp for the last couple of weeks obviously gives me some great insight. He has a long history with Wanderlei and brings some good stuff to the table on what to expect.”
• Bisping was impressed by Chael Sonnen’s tour-de-force UFC 109 performance last Saturday. “I thought Chael did a great job,” he said. “He had a tough opponent in Nate Marquardt and he went through him very easily… I suppose he hasn’t done as much to win a title shot as Nate Marquardt would have done, but the fact is he beat Marquardt, who was widely regarded, I suppose, as the No. 1 contender. If you beat the No. 1 contender, what does that make you? I suppose it makes you the No. 1 contender.”
• Bisping didn’t necessarily concur with Sonnen’s remark that Anderson Silva would be an easier opponent over Vitor Belfort. “I don’t know if it would be an easier fight for him to fight Vitor or Anderson, you know?” said Bisping. “Chael says a lot of things and I don’t always agree with everything he says.
