A STUNNING OVERNIGHT upset has seen Michael Bisping crowned UFC middleweight champion at The Forum in Los Angeles.
Despite entering the UFC 199 main event as the biggest underdog on the card at 9/2, Bisping stopped defending title-holder Luke Rockhold after 3:36 of the first round in what will go down as one of the biggest shocks in UFC history.
Bisping — who had only been drafted in for the fight on two weeks’ notice after the withdrawal of Rockhold’s original challenger, Chris Weidman — is now the first British fighter to hold a UFC belt.
The achievement comes in the 37-year-old Manchester native’s 26th bout in the UFC — 10 years since he made his debut for the organisation.
Bisping dropped Rockhold with a left and as the defending champion scrambled back to his feet, the Englishman followed up and sent Rockhold crashing back to the mat with another powerful left that left no way back for the American.
“I am so happy right now,” said an overwhelmed Bisping afterwards. “I started fighting when I came out of my mother, really. I’ve always been a fighter but there is nothing I do better in this life than fighting. This is my dream. Nobody was taking this away from me.”
Rockhold, on the other hand, admitted that he may have been guilty of over-confidence, having beaten Bisping by second-round submission in November 2014.
“A bit, yeah,” Rockhold said. “I could have capitalised and fought my fight rather than playing around with him. He’s a tough guy, he’s a warrior. I’ve got to credit him, I’ve got to give him respect in the cage.”
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Elsewhere on a highly entertaining UFC 199 card, Dominick Cruz dominated Urijah Faber over five rounds for the second time to successfully defend his UFC bantamweight title in the co-main event.
In the aftermath of his third defeat in a title bout in the UFC’s 135lbs division, Faber admitted that he’ll now have to weigh up his options but, at 37, retirement is a possibility.
Max Holloway was too good for Ricardo Lamas as his calls for a featherweight title shot grew louder with his ninth successive victory since his 2013 defeat to Conor McGregor.
Dan Henderson also admitted that he may have fought for the last time after he rolled back the years to defeat Hector Lombard via second-round knockout.
Also on the main card, another of Conor McGregor’s former victims, Dustin Poirier, made it four wins from four in the lightweight division with an impressive performance and stoppage victory against Bobby Green.
UFC 199 results
- Michael Bisping def. Luke Rockhold via KO (punches) after 3:36 of round one
- Dominick Cruz def. Urijah Faber via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
- Max Holloway def. Ricardo Lamas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Dan Henderson def. Hector Lombard via KO (head kick and elbows) after 1:27 of round two
- Dustin Poirier def. Bobby Green via TKO (punches) after 2:53 of round one
- Brian Ortega def. Clay Guida via KO (knee) after 4:40 of round three
- Beneil Dariush def. James Vick via KO (punch) after 4:16 of round one
- Jessica Andrade def. Jessica Penne via TKO (punches) after 2:56 of round two
- Alex Caceres def. Cole Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Sean Strickland def. Tom Breese via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Luis Henrique da Silva def. Jonathan Wilson via TKO (punches) 4:11 of round two
- Kevin Casey vs. Elvis Mutapcic fought to a draw (29-28, 28-29, 28-28)
- Marco Polo Reyes def. Dong Hyun Kim via KO (punches) after 1:52 of round three
