Michael Bisping

Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping is an English sports commentator, analyst, actor, and former mixed martial artist. Born on 28 February 1979 on a British military base in Nicosia, Cyprus, Bisping grew up in Clitheroe, Lancashire, and attended St Augustine's Roman Catholic High School. He competed professionally in mixed martial arts from 2004 to 2017, participating in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Bisping held the UFC middleweight title, the Cage Rage light heavyweight title, and won the light heavyweight tournament of The Ultimate Fighter 3.

Bisping began training in jujutsu at eight years old and competed in Britain's first no holds barred competition, Knock Down Sport Budo, in 1994 at age 15. Inspired by Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bisping briefly abandoned his training at age 18 before pursuing boxing, kickboxing, and karate under Allan Clarkin. He achieved success in kickboxing, winning the North West Area title and the Pro British light heavyweight title twice. Before establishing his full-time career in mixed martial arts, Bisping worked as an upholsterer, postman, tiler, plasterer, salesman, and laborer in factories, slaughterhouses, and demolition companies. In 2001, he served a 28-day prison sentence following a pub brawl.

Bisping made his professional MMA debut in April 2004 with a submission win over Steve Mathews. He quickly claimed the Cage Rage light heavyweight championship by defeating Mark Epstein and later won the Cage Warriors light heavyweight title against Dave Radford. Reigning over major UK federations, Bisping accrued a 10–0 record before joining the UFC's reality series, The Ultimate Fighter 3, in early 2006. He won the tournament by defeating Josh Haynes in the finals, becoming the second light heavyweight tournament winner in the show's history.

After competing at light heavyweight in the UFC, including becoming the first British fighter to compete in a UFC main event at UFC 78, Bisping dropped down to the middleweight division in 2008. Over his middleweight tenure, he earned notable victories against fighters such as Chris Leben, Denis Kang, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Jason Miller, while also serving as a coach on multiple seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. In 2013, Bisping suffered a detached retina during a fight against Vitor Belfort, leaving him legally blind in his right eye.

In 2016, Bisping achieved a major milestone by knocking out Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 to win the UFC Middleweight Championship, becoming the first British fighter to win a UFC title. He defended the championship against Dan Henderson at UFC 204 before losing the belt to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217 in 2017. Following a knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum three weeks later, Bisping retired from professional competition. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on 5 July 2019.

Alongside his athletic achievements, Bisping developed an acting career. He has appeared in feature films including XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Triple Threat, Red Sonja, and My Name Is Lenny, in which he portrayed Roy Shaw. On television, his acting credits include roles in series such as Strike Back, Twin Peaks, MacGyver, Magnum P.I., and Warrior.