AFTER HIS DEFEAT to Luke Rockhold at UFC Fight Night 55, any lingering hopes Michael Bisping had of securing a title shot appeared to have faded.
The Manchester native hadn’t won back-to-back fights in three years and his second-round submission loss to the ex-Strikeforce champion represented yet another failure against a legitimate contender, following previous defeats against Tim Kennedy, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans.
However, 18 months and three consecutive victories later, Bisping will finally compete for a UFC title — 10 years since he made his debut for the organisation — in tonight’s main event at UFC 199 at The Forum in Inglewood… albeit by default.
After he defeated Chris Weidman to become the UFC middleweight champion last December at UFC 194 in Las Vegas, Rockhold’s inaugural title defence was due to be a rematch against the man he dethroned. But an injury Weidman sustained a fortnight ago opened the door for one of Rockhold’s other former foes, Michael Bisping
At the age of 37, Bisping has been rewarded for his admirable endeavour and perseverance. But being part of a championship fight is likely to be as good as it gets for the TUF 3 winner, who is the biggest underdog, at 9/2, on tonight’s 13-bout card.
Rockhold has already demonstrated his superiority against Bisping, who’s on a revenge mission tonight. When the pair met in Sydney in November 2014, Rockhold needed less than a minute of the second round to submit the former Cage Warriors champ.
In addition to being more adept in all areas of the game when it comes to ability, Rockhold is bigger, faster and possesses a better gas tank to sustain him through the championship rounds, should they be required.
There’s plenty more to savour on tonight’s bill, which is undoubtedly the best the UFC has put together so far in 2016. The middleweight title isn’t the only strap on the line, with bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz also a big favourite (1/5) in his trilogy match against Urijah Faber.
Elsewhere on the main card, Max Holloway will aim to move a step closer to a featherweight title shot by looking for his ninth successive win since his loss to Conor McGregor when he takes on former title challenger Ricardo Lamas.
The legendary Dan Henderson’s slow descent looks set to continue against Hector Lombard, and Dustin Poirier’s resurgence in the lightweight division could move to the next stage as he takes on Bobby Green.
UFC 199 is a stacked bill, from the title bouts at the top all the way down to the preliminary cards, which feature some fantastic bouts including Brian Ortega versus Clay Guida and Sean Strickland versus undefeated Englishman Tom Breese.
Who will win tonight’s UFC 199 headliner?
Poll Results:
UFC 199
Main card (BT Sport 2, 3am)
Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping
Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber
Max Holloway vs. Ricardo Lamas
Dan Henderson vs. Hector Lombard
Dustin Poirier vs. Bobby Green
TV prelims (BT Sport 2, 1am)
Brian Ortega vs. Clay Guida
Beneil Dariush vs. James Vick
Jessica Penne vs. Jessica Andrade
Cole Miller vs. Alex Caceres
Fight Pass prelims (UFCFightPass.com, 11.15pm)
Sean Strickland vs. Tom Breese
Jonathan Wilson vs. Luiz Henrique da Silva
Kevin Casey vs. Elvis Mutapcic
Polo Reyes vs. Dong Hyun Kim
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