A middleweight legend delivered one of the greatest UFC upsets of all time in the unlikeliest of circumstances on this day in 2016.
It’s often said that everyone loves an underdog, and that saying largely applies in the MMA world.
The UFC is no stranger to underdog tales, with a number of previously unlikely champions finding their way to the top of the sport, from Julianna Pena’s submission against Amanda Nunes to Matt Serra’s shock TKO versus Georges St-Pierre.
But when it comes to overcoming odds that seemed insurmountable, not many can hold a candle to the first-ever UFC champion out of the United Kingdom.
Michael Bisping stunned Luke Rockhold with shock KO to claim the UFC middleweight title
When Michael Bisping was submitted by Luke Rockhold at UFC Fight Night Sydney, the Brit’s title ambitions took a significant hit.
Rockhold went on to send Lyoto Machida to the same fate before defeating Chris Weidman in a memorable battle to become UFC middleweight champion.
Many were predicting a lengthy reign for the Californian, but a figure from his past shocked the world to ensure that wasn’t the case on June 4, 2016.
While an immediate rematch with Weidman was scheduled for UFC 199, the challenger suffered a cervical disc herniation that left the promotion scrambling for a replacement on just 17 days’ notice.
The number dialed by Dana White was that of Bisping, who had reeled off three wins over CB Dollaway, Thales Leites, and the great Anderson Silva since being defeated by the champ.
The circumstances weren’t ideal, but ‘The Count’ backed himself to perform despite a lack of training. And his decision to take that leap paid off in a huge way.
Bisping knocked Rockhold out at UFC 199 in the very first round, cementing himself as the UK’s first UFC champion and among the biggest underdog stories the sport has seen.
Michael Bisping was on a film set with Vin Diesel when he got the call for UFC 199
The short-notice nature of Bisping’s title shot wasn’t the only less-than-ideal scenario for the Englishman.
When the UFC called after confirmation of Weidman’s injury, ‘The Count’ had his hands full filming xXx: Return of Xander Cage in Toronto alongside movie star Vin Diesel.
With that in mind, Bisping had been out of the gym for months, as he recalled during an appearance on MMA Junkie’s Legend 2 Legend series in 2022.
“As I’m walking in, I start getting all these messages and it turns out Dana had just been on SportsCenter and announced that I was fighting Rockhold for the belt in two weeks,” Bisping said.
“I was like, ‘Holy c—p, what’s my weight? What’s my weight?’ So, I ran to the scale, I was like 218 pounds or something. I’m like, ‘Oh, no way.’
“I was thinking, ‘C—p, this is so typical of my life,’ because of all the doubts and negativity started creeping in,” Bisping added. “I’m thinking I’m fighting a guy that’s already beaten me, I’m taking the fight on two weeks’ notice, I haven’t been near an MMA gym in about three, four months because I’ve been in Toronto for ages filming a movie. And I don’t believe this.”
Bisping went on to defend the UFC middleweight title successfully against Dan Henderson before being unseated by the returning St-Pierre in 2017.
The Brit would compete just once more after the end of his title reign, suffering a knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum before retiring and beginning a career in broadcast.