Is the UFC in a state of flux? Are there fewer superstars than five years ago? Does a Conor McGregor-shaped void still hover over MMA’s behemoth organisation?
No, no and no. Michael Bisping isn’t having any of it.
Britain’s first UFC champion, now commentator and analyst, waves a dismissive left hand – the same one that flashed across Luke Rockhold’s chin to win the belt almost a decade ago.
McGregor is rubbing shoulders with Donald Trump and chasing the Irish presidency, Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have been knocked off their perches. Francis Ngannou, Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz have moved on.
But for Bisping, 46, there’s a ‘no player is bigger than the club’ philosophy.
‘People will say, “look at this, they’re done, there’s no superstars”, but that’s what they used to argue years ago when none of these big names were on the roster’, he counters in an exclusive chat to Mail Sport.
Conor McGregor, pictured with US president Donald Trump, says he will run for office in Ireland
Michael Bisping is dismissive of the suggestion there is a McGregor shaped void in the UFC
Ilia Topuria, pictured with partner Giorgina Uzcategui, is part of the next generation of talent
‘It used to be Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and people like that. Then it was Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva. The list goes on.
‘Alex Pereira wasn’t even heard of a few years ago, then he comes in and overtakes the sport. Everyone has their time in the sun and they move on.’
He adds: ‘The sport remains, new people come through all the time. People like Islam Makhachev, Tom Aspinall if he ever gets the fight with Jones is going to be an absolute megastar.
‘Ilia Topuria is a worldwide sensation, he’s just incredible as well. If some people retire, there will be new people coming through all the time.’
McGregor is the obvious anomaly in all this. He’s the only UFC fighter that passes the grandma test – she’ll probably have heard of him.
Nobody has transcended the sport like the hugely controversial Irishman and perhaps nobody will again.
These days his fame inside the cage has been surpassed by infamy out of it. Never more so than last November when he was forced to pay £209,000, following a civil jury verdict, to a woman, Nikita Hand, who had accused him of rape. McGregor is appealing the case.
The latest development is that the 36-year-old is running for the Irish presidency on an anti-immigration platform. He’s swapping the octagon for Oval Office photo ops and also spends his time promoting Bare Knuckle FC, which he part owns.
McGregor has never seemed further away from a return to the UFC’s octagon
Bisping (left) names Tom Aspinall (right) among the next crop of superstars
Seven of the top 10 pay-per-view events in UFC history still belong to McGregor and four of the top five. But he’s never seemed further away from a return to action and for now the cash cow is out to pasture.
‘He doesn’t need to fight,’ Bisping offers. ‘He’s made an obscene amount of money and smashed it out the park. I don’t know what he’s doing these days.
‘Do I believe he’ll fight again? I believe he wants to but he’s too busy, pulled in many different directions and probably doesn’t have the need, the desire and just wants to do it for the fun and attraction because he likes to fight.
‘If you’re a fighter, fighting and beating someone feels great and he loves that. Will he fight again? Who knows, probably not… maybe, I don’t know!’
One man who shares the flamboyance and charisma of the younger iteration of McGregor is Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett, Liverpool’s blonde bombshell who became must-see TV even before his 2021 UFC debut.
Next month we’ll have a better idea if the 30-year-old is a contender or pretender at lightweight as he faces Michael Chandler, the slick-talking American who has fought the cream of the crop.
Paddy Pimblett (left) is one fighter with the charisma to become a global superstar
Pimblett’s close friend and team-mate Molly McCann described the bout as ‘career-defining’ and Bisping did not mince his words in assessing the UFC 314 co-main event.
‘It’s a put up or shut up for both of them,’ he said.
‘Chandler has always talked a good game and spoken about becoming the champion and we know that he’s lost four out of his last five. Granted they’ve come to the likes of Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. Now he’s fighting Paddy Pimblett.
‘No disrespect to Paddy Pimblett, it’s a little bit down the pecking order. If Michael Chandler is as good as he thinks he is and says he is and is going to continue having these big fights and big opportunities, maybe even fight for a belt one day, then he has to beat Paddy Pimblett.
‘That’s just a fact and if Paddy now is going to really go to that next level and be a potential contender one day he’s got to beat Chandler,’ Bisping added.
‘He’s slow-rolled it throughout the UFC and that’s a great way to do it, it’s a natural progression. He had a great first-round submission last time out against Bobby Green and now steps up in competition.
‘If Paddy loses, it’s not the end of the road. I lost plenty of fights along the way and still ended up as champion.’
Bisping’s message to Michael Chandler (left) is a blunt and uncompromising one
For Chandler, the message from Bisping is even more blunt.
‘If he loses this, he needs to stop and shut up once and for all. He can still have fun fights but don’t ever mention being a champion again.’
It’s a ruthless perspective that chimes with Bisping’s wider message. There will always be young pups snapping at the heels of the old dogs.
For him, watching fresh faces, styles and personalities try to climb the greasy pole is as compelling as the crowning moment when one reaches the top.
