MMA Fighting - Fighter vs. Writer: Michael Bisping On The Fallout From UFC 271, Responds To Criticism Over His Commentary

Episode Date: February 15, 2022

UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping returns to The Fighter vs. The Writer to discuss the fallout from UFC 271 where Israel Adesanya defeated Robert Whittaker in the main event. Bisping will give his thoughts on how the fight played out while also responding to criticism over his commentary during the fight. He will also discuss Adesanya’s place in history after this latest win and what he’ll have to do to consider himself one of the all time greats in the sport. The former UFC champion will also detail what’s next for Adesanya in the division including potential challenges from Jared Cannonier and Sean Strickland. Bisping will also give his thoughts on Tai Tuivasa’s stunning knockout win over Derrick Lewis and where he fits into the hierarchy of the heavyweight division now with this victory. All this and more on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify Read More: MMA Fighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Nice travels. Wi-Fi available to Aero Pembers on equipped flights, sponsored by Bound, Conditions apply. See Air Canada.com. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Back to the Fighter versus the Writer. I'm your host, as always, Damon Martin. And today I'm joined by the man who actually served as the first ever co-host on this podcast,

about 23 episodes ago. He is back to break down UFC 271 with me. Of course, he is the UFC Hall of Famer. He is the former UFC Middleweight champion. Michael, the Count Bisping. Michael, welcome back. Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it.

Anytime, Damon, you're a longtime friend of mine. you've always covered the sport. You're a big supporter of mixed martial arts. Anytime, buddy. Good to talk to you. So before we get started, I had a really funny story to tell you. So you know how you get those Facebook memories

like reminded on your Facebook? Like things that happen, you know, whatever. I'm not even kidding. So we're recording just for people that are listening or watching this on Tuesday. We're recording this on Monday, February 14th. Of course, it is Valentine's Day. My Facebook memory from today from 12 years ago,

from 2010, we did an interview for your fight with Vanderlai Silva. You were in Australia. And it said, I had a post on my Facebook, said an interview in Michael Bisping tonight for my podcast. 12 years ago. How wild is that today? Wow.

I had no idea that that fight was so long ago. 12 years. Time flies. There you go. We go back a long way, buddy. That is insane to me. When I saw that I cracked up, this is totally by coincidence.

But I was like 12 years ago today, I was like, that is so wild. We're doing this interview today. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, it's wild. And that was a wild fight. And the judges at the weekend were definitely better than the judges that

judge me versus fucking Van der Leyen Silver, I'll tell you that. Although if you ask all the thousands of haters out there that are sending me death threats by a social media, you wouldn't think so. Let me start there. I saw your live stream earlier you address that. I'm not going to ask you to justify your commentary because, for one, I didn't think there was anything wrong with your commentary. I completely agree with you.

I completely agree with the way the fight played out. credit to Robert Whitaker, you know, he came, he put on a much better fight the second time around. But I thought Israel Adasana, you clearly won the fight. But I'm curious, as a guy who does this for a living now, and you're doing this kind of weekend to weekend, how do you deal with criticism like that? Because some people take it very personally, other people just, you know, kind of shrug it off and move on. How do you deal with it? Because I think you're one of the best of the game.

I think you're absolutely one of the best of the game. But, again, you're going to get criticism no matter how good you are. Yeah, no, well, thank you for the kind words. I mean, anytime you put yourself out there, you know, then, you know, you're going to be judged in anything what you do, you know. So it is what it is, you know, it's kind of like water off a duck's back, but not really. You know, I do see it. I do, it does resonate with me, you know, and I do take it on board.

You know, I'm not some arrogant asshole that just thinks I'm to be all in end. Though my opinion is the only one that matters. So therefore, I disregard everything, you know, I do, but I am confident in what I say as well. know the sport inside and out. You know, I've dedicated my life to martial arts. I am so fully entrenched in the world of UFC. It's my life. That's all I do. And for 20 years, I was a professional fighter or a fighter. And now I commentate when I'm not commentating. I'm doing wane shows, post-fight shows, all the rest of it, you name it, my own YouTube channel, a podcast surrounding MMA. I know the sport. Okay. So I'm very confident in my opinion. That said,

that doesn't mean that I can't get it wrong sometimes. So, you know, I do look at criticism and maybe, maybe some of it's valid, maybe some of it's not. Maybe some of it's just, you know, Robert Whittaker fanboys. Maybe it's Joe Rogan fanboys that didn't like the fact that I was stepping in. Who knows what it is? But Saturday night, after the commentary, there was a slew of abuse, shall we say. But, you know, I certainly didn't take it too to heart.

You know, I wasn't going to go and kill myself. Do you know what I mean? Or jump off a bridge, like many people. telling me to do. But, you know, maybe I could have worded it differently in hindsight. I haven't had chance yet to watch it back. I only got back yesterday and then I've had worked things on and obviously I have a family as well. I can't just be like, guys, I know I haven't seen you in a few days, but I'm just going to sit and watch myself for half an hour. Do you know what I mean? So I haven't had chance yet. But I do stand by a lot of what I said. Sorry, I know

I'm talking a lot. I thought the fight was very close. I thought Robert Whitaker was just a smidge behind most of the rounds. And my point that I was making, I wasn't being critical to Robert Wittaker, but the reality is those rounds that he lost were so close, but they're still going to go down as losses, you know, and he didn't put all this hard working to come to Houston to lose, you know. So if he wants to win this fight, my advice is start throwing the right hand more, do this, do that. Is he, for my opinion, was doing enough to win, and he was going to win. And as it comes out. I was correct. Three judges. So, yeah, the judges saw pretty much the same way I saw it. So I guess I'm validated. But fortunately, it wasn't the same judge that judged it.

I judged the Roxanne Marliferi fight. Yeah, that one was, that was quite bad. That was quite bad. And I actually kind of felt bad for Casey O'Neill, you know, a split decision, you know, get no shame. And again, Roxy's a warrior and a legend. And it was their last fight. But when I saw that, I was like, good. I mean, I was, I was upset that there were 29, 28 scores in that fight. I thought was 3027. Like, no offense to Roxy. She's a legend. Doesn't mean she won the fight.

Doesn't mean she won around, in my opinion. Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. You know, so that judge, yeah, yeah, he clearly didn't know what he was talking about. Fortunately, he wasn't judging the main event. You know, I know Robert felt strongly that he won the fight at the end of it. He clearly stated that. And I think that's a natural response for most fighters. Most fighters will feel like that, certainly when it was so close.

and he did have success towards the end of the round. He was landing jabs and things like that. But if you look at the stats, which I have done, Izzy was ahead on every round. And of course, there's talk about the takedowns, but in the new unified rules of mixed martial arts, in a very close fight, a takedown unless you use it to pass guard, your advanced position, you do damage,

or your attempts or missions, then it's just classed as a change of position. It doesn't affect the scorecard. In a round where, let's say, nobody throws a single shot, that would come into effect. But when the other guys are out striking you, granted, not by a big margin,

but the numbers don't lie, then it's kind of null and void. I think that's what a lot of people forget when you talk about scoring and a fight is the damage is the number one criteria. And Israel, out of Sonia, was doing more damage. I mean, Robert Whitaker landed punches. He had good moments.

You mentioned the takedown. So those are all great. But if you don't do anything with the takedown, if you're not, and again, you know, he did try to go for a submission at one point. he did, you know, try to advance his position. But again, if you're not doing more with it, it doesn't really count for a whole lot. And when you look at what Israel was doing on the feet, he was landing a lot harder shots,

landing the better punches throughout. Again, damage is the number one criteria. I know we talk about cage control and all these kind of things, but I think that gets lost a lot of the conversation. And I imagine it's probably the same thing when you do commentary and you're being honest about what we're seeing, is that damage is number one. Israel out of Sonia did more damage. I don't really see an argument against that.

Yeah, I couldn't have said it better myself because you're absolutely right. That is the number one criteria. Everything else, cage control, aggression, all the effective grappling. That all comes secondary. If the damage is even, then they look at the other things.

You know, and listen, I'm not here to reign on Robert Whitaker's parade. I'm not here to make me look better at the cost of Robert Whitaker's performance. That's not what I'm trying to do. Robert had a great performance. He went the distance with Israel at Asana in a very, very close and highly competitive fight. That's something he should be proud of. But when it comes down to it, when it boils down to it, it wasn't enough to win the fight.

And I know that's a tough pill to swallow. And I know a lot of people like Robert. And I like Robert. You know, I got this call on relatively short notice. And prior to that, I'd actually done some predictions for the fight, which normally I don't do on BT Sport. I predicted Robert to win. Do you know what I mean? So if there was any bias here, it was towards Robert.

Whittaker. I like his, you don't get me wrong, but he's so cocky and arrogant, if you will, but he backs it up, to be fair, so he has every right to be. And I used to be a cocky son of a bitch as well, so I totally get it. Robert, how do you not like this guy? You know, he's so humble and he's a family man, he's in every man. Do you know what I mean? So you root for that guy, you know, so if Robert was doing enough to win, I would have said that 100%. Yeah. Let me ask you this because, you know, going into the weekend, there was this big narrative, and I'm sure you heard it, a good friend of yours, good friend of mine, Daniel Cormay, I have nothing but love for DC. He had said, you know, they had talked to him about, you know, who's the middleweight goat?

And he said, listen, I, you know, Al-a-Sanya's great, but let's slow down on the goat conversation. You know, Anderson Silva still exists, I think is what he actually said. And over the week, I'm sure you saw it. There was an article somewhere. I can't remember where it came from, but said, like, the Mount Rushmore of Middleweight. It was you. It was Anderson. It was Israel. and I can't remember who the fourth person was, but it was like the all-time greats. Now, Mike, I would consider you one of the all-time great middleweights. Of course, you're a former champion.

You've been there. I love what Adasanya has done. I don't put him as the greatest of all time. So I'm going to end that conversation there. I don't think he's there yet. But in terms of what we're seeing out of him, his talent and the guys he's going through, I think Robert Whitaker's great.

I think Marvin Vittori's great. I think Paulo Costa is great. I think he's gone through a lot of great guys. Am I wrong in thinking that Israel has a chance to put himself in that category. He's not there yet. He's just not. But he has a chance

to put himself in that category. Without question, 100%. I'm very kind of you to say that. I don't know if I put myself as one of the goats in the middle way, but still, I'm not here to talk about me. I think Israel, if he continues doing what he's doing and he can continue to defend the belt,

then 100%. I mean, he's fighting tough competition. Some of them he's getting great finishes. What he did to Palo Costa was just unbelievable. That was just a brutal beat down from start to finish. Some of them are going to a decision. That's how it is when you're fighting the best people in the world.

There's no shame on that. If you just look at the numbers, the amount of times that Anderson Silver defended the belt, I mean, that says it right there. So until he beats him, and then I think knockouts and finishes and style and pizzazz and all the rest of it, the way you do it, comes into effect as well.

But yeah, you know, if he continues, what, he needs a few more wins. I mean, how many times did Anderson defend the belt? like 12 or something crazy, something insane. So he's still got a way to go. But if he can continue to do it and beat those numbers, then I think he could do it. Yeah, I love, I talked to Israel last week.

I think it was like Wednesday. So it was a couple days before the fight and I had a conversation with him. And I asked him that question. And I loved his response. He told me, I don't really care. He's like, if you consider me the goat, great, I appreciate it. But I don't care.

I'm not chasing Anderson Silva. I'm not chasing anybody. I'm doing my own thing. And I was, I appreciate that. because you know as well as I do, a lot of guys do get lost in that chase sometimes comparing themselves to other people have come before them. And it can hurt them. It can hurt them in their mentality.

It can hurt them in their own legacy. They're always constantly comparing themselves to somebody else. I know, listen, you're a journalist now. You're in the media business. You understand we're all guilty. Journalists, I use that term very loosely. We're all guilty of it. It's a great conversation to have.

I fully admit it. I have it all the time. It's a great conversation to have. But I love his attitude. I don't care. I don't care if he consider me the goat. If you do great, appreciate it, but I don't care. And I think that in a weird way might actually carry him

to where he could become, you know, the goat or one of the greatest of all time. Yeah, well, he's got the perfect attitude. You shouldn't care. You know, you're just trying to do you in life. I mean, everyone's the biggest battle or biggest enemy or biggest opponent is yourself and what goes on between your ears

and your own thoughts and all the rest of it and what you choose to do that day or what you don't choose to do. And he's having a great career. He's become champion of the world, you know, and he's just chipping away. He's just winning fights. He's continuing to earn massive amounts of money

and be a global superstar. Who gives a fuck if he's got more title defenses than Anderson Silver? That doesn't have... His biggest problem is defending the belt again. You know what I mean? So he shouldn't concern those things. I also think partly because he's sick of hearing that. I mean, ever since he came to the UFC,

there was comparisons with Anderson Silver way before he was the champion. And he said back then, didn't he? He said, hey, I'm not Anderson Silver. I'm Israel-A-Sahya. Don't compare me to him. So I think that probably, you know, rubs him up the wrong way a little bit anytime there is those comparisons or conversations about him being the goat or Anderson. But back to my prior point, it doesn't matter.

And he's absolutely right to say that. Yeah. Let me shift gears a little bit because, you know, an argument can be made that Israel-A-Sahia has already vanquished his toughest competition in the current middleweight division with two wins over Marvin Vittory and two wins over Robert Whitaker. I think Marvin's fantastic. We just saw what he did to Paulo Costa in a fight where Paulo missed weight by like 90 pounds or whatever insane amount of weight it wasn't had to change weight classes like three times

during fight week. But he beat him, you know, Marvin's great. Robert Whitaker, of course, he's beating pretty much everybody at middleweight not named, you know, Israel out of Sonia. So you can argue he's beaten his two toughest competitors. But we saw on Saturday night, you know, it looks like Jared Kandonier's going to be next, which, by the way, let me give you credit, the line of the weekend. Even though I know you're friendly with him now was the joke about he's keeping his chin up like Luke Rockhold.

Best line of the week. Best line of the weekend, buddy. Be clear, I love Luke, and I know you and Luke have actually kind of become buddies, but that was the line of the weekend. Me, me, me too, because it was Carlos Holberg, who's a very attractive young man. That's what it was. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was a former model. Do you know what I mean?

he's tall, he's rangy, he's got good long kicks, you know what I mean, he's ripped a bit, he's good looking, handsome, I said that a few times, that sounds weird, and he has his hands low, and he had his chin high up in the air, and I'm like, he reminds me of Luke Rockhold right now, you know, for many, many reasons, and I thought, ah, screw it, I can't resist, and yeah, it wasn't a dig at Luke, you know, I like Luke, God bless him. Oh, that's funny, but anyway, so we saw Jared Cannonier go out there and get a big winner, of Derek Brunson very impressedly. And of course, you're a guy you're very familiar with.

Sean Strickland just went out and got a big win, you know, a couple weeks ago. And he's kind of put himself there. For one, I love that we're getting new blood. I love that Israel said, you know, I need some fresh meat. I need some new guys that I totally agree. Because, again, you can only rematch people so many times. I think Jared being next makes sense that Sean probably being one fight away. I love, you know, take all the insane things he says away because Sean does say some really

crazy insane things. Oh, yeah. He's an incredible fighter in the run. is amazing right now. I think Jared Canaaner has that nasty one-punch knockout power that is always going to be dangerous. But am I wrong in thinking, again, not to say they're not a threat.

They're always going to be a threat. But I think Israel is kind of beaten, in my opinion, the two toughest guys in the division. And I don't know that Marvin or Robert will really get back there. I mean, it's going to take a lot for either one of them to get back there. No, it really is. And yeah, he's almost cleaned out the division. You know, that's why Jared Canaaner will be a refreshing.

fight for everybody. You know, nobody wants to see the champion defending against the same people over and over and over because there's nobody else. So Jared fits the bill in many, many ways. He's also got a style that maybe that's how you beat Israel and Asana. I don't think going in with a wrestling game plan is going to be the way to do it. I mean, of course, that's how Jan Blahovish did it. Yeah, he did very, very well on the feet, but he also took him down in rounds four and five.

That's great. He did that. But Robert's a good wrestler, took down Kelvin Gaston four times, had no success. very little success, should I say, at the weekend. Yor Romero, highly decorated wrestler, that wasn't successful for him. I think much like the way you beat Anderson Silver, you know, you walk him down,

you take, you know, you close the distance, you get in the pocket, you know, you have the reflexes and the striking ability to say, fuck this, I'll beat you at your own game. Jared Kannonier is very explosive, very fast, got excellent reflexes, good movement, good striking. it's not on the level of Anderson Silver's, sorry, Israel, out of Saunas, in terms of creativity and things like that.

But fundamentals, win fights, a good job, good head movement, checking kicks, throwing kicks of Iran. You don't need to be this really, really fancy, look like a teching character in real life. You don't need to do that. You need to be able to kickbox at a very, very high level. And I think Jared Canaer, can, he's very physical, he's very strong. So I think he matches up very well.

I do think it's a tough night at the office for him. And there's no shame in saying that. I think he realizes that as well. But I think Israel would be a massive favorite. But I think the fight will be competitive. Now, who knows, maybe Israel knocks him out. Maybe it goes to a decision. But until it comes to an end, I think Jared will do pretty well.

I don't see why not. I mean, look at Kelvin Gasselham. Look at the approach he had. He was able to go forward and do that. And that's how you beat Anderson Silver. but that's how I beat it, you know. I'm not saying that I have the pedigree of kickboxing or flashy moves in my arsenal that Anderson did,

because that's a lie, I just don't. But if you're tough enough, you get the cardio, you can push it at good pace, you've got the reflexes, you've got the head movement, and you put it all together and you believe in yourself, then you can make great things happen. Yeah, I am very intrigued, though, with the Sean Strickland matchup,

because Sean has that long reach, that good jab, you know, really fundamentally sound fighter, and I think that's an interesting matchup for a guy, like Israel because Israel is such a dynamic striker but I appreciate you know when you look at what he did with your eye hall now I'm not going to sit here and say your eye hall is Israel out of sonya because he's not but he's a very creative kickboxer a very creative striker and Sean stuck to the basics you know put a jab in his face all night did a lot of damage to your eye hall and uh that is an intriguing match I'm not saying I would pick Sean Strickland I don't know

that I pick anybody to be Israel out of son yeah 185 pounds right now but that is that is an interesting fight no for sure and I think Israel's got one eye on on him anyway because he would sell the fight you know he would talk a lot of trash he already has been he's always already accusing him of being on steroids and to your point he's a solid fighter he's very good i've known trained with sean for a while people see him as just this striker he's got really excuse me really really really high level jiu jutsu wrestling not so much uh but if it hits the ground is yeah he's got great jihitsu that's why when he fought who did he just be uh jack her manson I know Jack was trying to take it down

and Jack is known for his jiu-jitsu as well. But in my mind, I was like, I don't think that's the path to victory here. Sean's good on the ground. Trust me, when I've rolled with him, I was very, very surprised. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. We mentioned Jared Cannon here on the other side of that, Mike.

I wanted to ask you real quick about Derek Bronson because he's a guy who's been a perennial contender, top five guy for so much of his career. But it looks like, you know, that might be, you know, just about it for him. He has said one more fight and he's done. And again, you know, you can change your mind. We never know, you know, for sure what guys are going to do.

It could, you know, it could happen. But what are your thoughts on Derek and the career he's put together if he really does have one fight left in his career? Because in a way, like, it is a little heartbreaking because I think he's always been an incredibly talented guy. I think people forget he was beating Yowel Romero pretty handily, you know, and then he got caught in that third round. And, you know, again, credit to Yolo Romero for coming back.

But Derek's always been that guy who's always seemed like he was one fight away. And you've been there. we've had this conversation during your own career. There was a lot of times you're one fight away and you weren't able to get over the hump and then you did. You became champion. You did it.

You know what it's like. There's a part of me kind of like my heart breaks a little bit for Derek because it feels like that is going to be it for him. Yeah, maybe. I mean, who knows? Maybe it does change his mind. And if he doesn't change his mind, then he should be happy with his career.

He had a very, very long career, you know, fought the highest level for a long time, beat some of the best guys. Other than that fight there, what was he on a five-fight win streak? You know, so if he has one more fight, fantastic.

He's got a lot of positives to take away. If he chooses to keep going, then I support that as well. You know, he went up against Jared Cannon here. We just talked about him. He's a great fighter, and he had Jared in a lot of problems. Came close to finish him in the first round. You know, that rear naked show was very close.

If there was another couple of minutes in the round, it could have been a different fight. But could have would have, shoulda. You know, that's not how this world works, you know. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. And it's sadly finished with a meeting a lot of elbows on his corner throwing in the towel right before the referee steps in. So the reality is, it's, you know,

it's like I'm trying to stroke my own ego here, but it's not what I'm doing at all. It's hard to be a champion of the world, you know? And not everyone has that in the destiny. You know, it looked like he had a good chance of achieving that. But that's just how it. it goes. I mean, this is now changed this trajectory of his career. You know, if I, if I didn't win that Anderson Silver fight, which was close, I wouldn't have ended up fighting for the belt. And it's

just, it's how it goes. You're only as good as your last fight in this game, you know, and he had five great fights. You know, the only problem was, is that one of those earlier losses was already to Israel, Adasania. If that wasn't the case, he would have got a shot, probably, you know, be, you know, without having to fight Jared Cannonier because he needed the fresh meat, but he'd already been beaten by him. So that's why. to get a second shot was a very, very big uphill climb. And yeah, yeah, listen, he should hold his head up high. Should be very proud of what he achieved.

Yeah, I think a lot of people forget, you know, we talk about title fights. We're so used to seeing title fights on pay-per-views and sometimes two, three title fights on pay-per-views. I think we forget sometimes how freaking hard it is to become a champion. Like the list of champions, it's funny because occasionally I'll be writing an article. I'll be writing an article or something. I'll go on like Wikipedia to see the ladder

so I can figure out, like, wear the belt just to remember things. And the list for almost every division is dramatically small. Like, heavyweight has had a lot of turnover because it's so hard to hold on to the title at heavyweight. But every other division is really, really small. Like, there's not a lot of champions. Like, I think people forget how hard it is to become a champion. Like, that's a really, really big achievement.

Yeah, absolutely. Exactly. That's why I said a moment ago, you know, not everyone's going to get that title. They're not going to retire with the belt in their office or whatever. What is it in middleweight? I think there's like six or seven champs in the history of the division. You know, I mean, obviously it's not the oldest sport. UFC's only been around since 93,

but a middleweight division wasn't even a thing for quite some time. So, yeah, yeah, exactly, to your point, it's an incredibly hard thing to achieve. And you shouldn't, when you're done, I mean, I would have been pissed, you know, if I didn't achieve it because that's what everybody wants. But I would have been okay with it. I mean, I looked at my fight with Anderson Silver as my title fight.

I knew my fight career was on Borough, time and I looked at that fight with Anders, I thought to myself, I'm never going to get to fight for the belt, and I kind of came to turns with that. Yeah, it's not for everyone, unfortunately. Yeah, let me ask real quick about the co-main event. Tai Tui Vasa goes out there and gets a ridiculously dramatic knockout over, one of the greatest

knockout artists in UFC history. Knock it out Derek Lewis in his hometown, that elbow is devastating, and any time you can face-plan a guy like that, we're always going to remember it a walk-off, K-O, kind of, you know, shades of one of his mentors, Mark Hunt, who was famous for the walkoff KO. What an incredible win. Now, I'm going to, I say that, and I'm going to segue into where it sounds like I'm going

to criticize Taito Ivasa, which I am in a way. Now Taito Ivasa is going to be a top five heavyweight. And I looked at it today when I was thinking about it. I love Taito Ivasa. He's so much fun. Everyone loves the Shui. I think it's disgusting. But, hey, more power to you if you like doing them.

It's disgusting. But I look at that division now, and I think, man, like Curtis Blades has a fight come up with Chris Dacus. Curtis Blades could be a nightmare matchup for a guy like Tai Tuay Vasa. You know, Steepi Miochich, you know, again, knockout power, but we know Steepa also has incredible wrestling. Cyril Ghan, the way he strikes, he moves, he never stands in front of you, those kind of things.

I love Ty. I hope great things for him. But I got to be honest, looking at his future in this division, I'm like, I don't know this might be the peak for him. And I know it sounds terrible to say. He just had a huge win. That sounds like I'm just kind of crap.

all over it. I'm not. But, man, that top of that heavyweight division is a snake pit right now. It is. And I understand what you're saying. I do. But also, on the flip side, you could argue it a different way because, I mean, listen, he just knocked out there at Lewis. That was sensational. But you're right. Now you're in the, you're definitely swimming in the deep end for sure. Curtis Blaze could be a nightmare because he's a tremendous wrestler. And Ty doesn't have that background. He's a brawler. He's a banger. But he's got, he's getting better all the time, you know. He's not just a guy that comes out and swings. He throws a lot of good kicks, you know.

He knows what he's doing. He sets up the headshots a lot of the time. But against the guy, like, Siddl Garn, I don't know. I think it would be competitive against an Angarnu. I mean, of course, you've got to watch that power. But he wouldn't be completely out of his depth. You know, Steep A would be tricky because of the wrestling background again. So if you managed him right and you said, no, listen, I'd just beat Derek Lewis, the number three guy.

I want Cyril Garne next. You never know. You never know. I wouldn't count him out of a fight with Cyril Garne. I really wouldn't. I think the Cyril Garne that just lost to Francis Nengarnu, I think Ty two of us could beat that guy. And I don't mean that in any disrespect to Cyril.

Cyril's fantastic. He really is. There's Tom Aspin all out there. He'd be a nightmare. Chris Dorcas, I think Ty could hang up, hang with all these guys. But the heavy wrestlers, they're the real issue. coach blades steep amy olchick and any others that are missing yeah yeah it's interesting and again listen you know and i said this about derrick lewis after he lost you know another title fight with zero

gone i said there is nothing wrong with being a ferocious knockout guy who headlines shows and takes home you know hundreds of thousands of dollars of paycheck shows we just talked about not everyone's going to be champion and i'm not saying he can't be champion because it's heavyweight he just needs one glancing shot to land and he wins but i love tie I love what you, I mean, you heard the reaction from the Craig. He was in Derek Lewis's hometown and the crowd went nuts. That doesn't happen. That's not supposed to happen.

You know what I mean? So again, I don't know if he'll ever be champion, but I know what he's going to do and he's going to make a lot of money and he's going to have a lot of fun out there. And there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, exactly. I don't know if he'll be the champion either. And it is an uphill climb, even though he's where he's where he's at. But you're right.

All fighters, listen, I know the part of the world where Ty 2 of us is from. You know what I mean? He's not a, he certainly wasn't born. with a silver spoon in his mouth. Let's just put it like that. It's a rough part of Sydney. Fighters, we start fighting for, you know,

to change our lives, to make some money. You know, some people do. Some people are very educated, but most of us are. You know, I left school at 16. I'm sure Ty didn't go to college and get a fucking degree either. Do you know what I mean? So he's just doing the best of what he can

with the skills that he has or the attributes that he has. I don't know what he gets paid. I'm sure he's on very good, money. I think he just might be on a new contract, you know, and he can go out there. He's still young. And he can be around the UFC for a long time. It could maybe become kind of like, I don't want to say, the new Derek Lewis. That's a bit insulted to Derek Lewis, but you're right. He is a star. I saw him Saturday and Sunday when I was leaving for the airport. I said,

you're a star man. You're a global superstar now. You really are because he does have charisma. He's very humble, but he's cool at the same time. He's funny. You know, he's the shooy, everything about him, you know, like I think a lot of people resonate with that, you know, the every guy, the mansats at home, you know, kind of see a bit of themselves in Taito of Varser. So he's got to make, regardless of whether or not he becomes a champion, he's going to make a lot of money over the next few years. And because of who he is and the personality that he has and the fan favorite that he is, he'll go on and continue and make a lot of money doing, you know, appearances and whatnot

at Expos and signings, you know, I'm sure there's plenty of people that want to meet Taito of Arsa. So yeah, maybe he'll be the champ. Maybe you won't, but the reason for becoming a professional fighter has certainly been validated. Absolutely, absolutely. Before I get you out of here, Mike, let me go ahead and touch real quick on the most controversial subject. I'm going to put you on the spot right now because you ended up calling the fights on Saturday night. I said you did a tremendous job.

You always do a tremendous job. But from my understanding, you were not originally planning on calling the fights on Saturday night. You replaced Joe Rogan. Everyone was buzzing about it afterwards. Dana White, did you see Dana White's statement about Joe? Did you see this? I didn't know. What did he say?

He said, and generally, you know, basically he said, because the originally when Joe dropped off the car, this is scheduling conflict. What just happened before? He had a hunting trip one time. Yeah. He had a comedy show, whatever. That's the statement UFCPR said. After the event, Dana said, you know, Joe could have been here. He could have been working.

That statement was complete bullshit. Literally is what he said. So I have no idea. But we all, we all know. We all put him in a tough spot here. I am. I am. I am.

We've all been. we all know what Joe's been caught up in a lot of stuff right now you know all this kind of stuff I in a way like it was just such a weird situation because like you I know you got pulled in kind of last minute right like you weren't originally on the car I think you were you were working analyst right no no I wasn't going to be there at all but then there was some talk of it there was some mention of it a little bit ago and then it got confirmed a couple of weeks ago but yeah listen you know it's it's kind of crazy what Joe Rog was going through but he had a lot of support Saturday night there was chance of Joe Rog would throughout the octagon. Yeah, no, I mean, listen, I don't want to step in and make my pay-per-view debut because someone else is going through some controversy. You know, it's not the ideal scenario. But also, it was an honor to fill in for Joe Rogan

to be the guy that the UFC called. So I'm very grateful for that opportunity, you know. And who knows, maybe that's why everyone hates me this morning. Normally, I've turned it around. Normally I get a lot of credit these days, but, ooh, not after the weekend. it's like 2007 all over again. It's funny.

You say about the criticism, though, it's so funny. Joe Rogan is a very beloved guy. There's no doubt about that. We all know that. But I've seen a million times when Joe gets just, you know, gets ranked over the calls for commentary. People love to complain. I mean, that's just the reality of social media.

And listen, we're all guilty of it in some way, shape, or form. I see it all the time. People that I admire and respect, whether it's fighters or celebrities or whatever, they always respond to the negative comments. they hardly ever respond to the praise. It's like we're built into us. So like I said, I thought you did a tremendous job. Joe Rogan, he does a great job.

He's in there. But again, Joe Rogan might be the most popular guy with UFC fans right now, but I guarantee you, like two fights ago or something, people would probably rake him over the colds for what he said. Yeah, no, exactly. I'm really not that bothered. As I said, I'm not arrogant enough to where I won't look at the situation

and try and take some constructive criticism. You know what I mean? Because I want to get better. I want to learn, you know, I've been doing this now. since 2019. So I'm not the most experienced commentator on the planet, far from it. And I want to learn it. I want to get better.

So it would be arrogant not to. But you're absolutely right. You know, there is a lot of people out there. I see it all the time. People are always talking shit about Joe Rogan. You know, and I'm like, what are you talking about? Number one, you know, he is the godfather of UFC or MMA commentary. He really is.

He's a guy that almost essentially started the job, if you will. He's been doing it forever. The big fights don't feel like the big fights. without Joe Rogan. You know what I mean? You know you're on a pay-per-view. You know it's a special night when Joe is on the microphone.

Excuse me. I think his insights are fantastic. He knows what he's talking about. I think he has a way with words that is absolutely fascinating the way strings and structures his sentences. I mean, that's why he's got the biggest podcast in the world. The man's a good talker.

He knows what he's doing. He knows this sport. And as I say, I find some of his takes absolutely fascinating. And I don't see a world. I mean, it just wouldn't be the same without Joe Rogan. Do you know what I mean? So it was always hard to choose for me to fill.

But you're right. Having said that, everything I just said there, I see people talk shit about Joe all the time as well. And it's not my place or he doesn't even need me to defend him. But I have found myself doing that on occasion. I'm like, what are you people talking about? Do you know what I mean? Does he get everything right?

Maybe not. Do I get everything right? Definitely not. It's hard. I think people don't. understand, you know, the challenges that can go into that job. Do you know what I mean? You're talking on live TV for seven hours straight, calling fights, high adrenaline,

we feel the adrenaline as well. You're on live TV, you know, there's crowds there, there's distractions, you know, there's producers in your ear, you're looking at replays, you know what I mean? So forgive us if maybe we say one or two things wrong, do you know what I mean? And that's certainly not what we try to do, you know? And I don't want to make mistakes. And I don't think I did make too many mistakes. Maybe I went on a little bit too much about using the right hand.

But guess what? He wasn't using the right hand. He was using a jab and a left hook. This is a very useful weapon. The job is what you used to set up the right hand. Or you can go a jab, left hook, throw a low keep, whatever it is. But you want to use diversity in your strikes. And that's what Israel had and Saddamia had.

And that's why he beat him on Saturday night. And from my perspective, I'm sorry to bring it back to me again. but, you know, I was saying that because I was saying what Rob needs to do to win this fight because I know he was very adamant that he won the fight on Saturday night and I understand that as far. Did I mention this?

Am I repeating myself here? No, no, no, exactly. I know, yeah, yeah, no, no, that's what we think. I probably talked about it on my podcast a minute ago, so it feels like a regurgitating the same stuff. And I probably am, so I apologize. But obviously when you have a close fight like that and you come out of it and you're not particularly hurt,

you're not black and blue, you're competitive, you won the fifth round, you might have won the second, the other ones were razor close, and you're the one, you're landing the shots and all the rest of it, and you feel like you weren't hurt. Yeah, human nature,

you're going to probably feel like you won that fight, you know, but I think if Rob's totally honest and he goes back and watches it, then he'll concede that maybe he didn't. I think he should be very proud of himself. I thought he gave a really good account. He took one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet to a razor close decision.

Because those rounds were razor close. But the 10 point must system means that someone must get 10 and someone must get 9. And for that reason, Izzy won the majority of those rounds based on that system and he's the winner. You know, and if I saw it like that, well, I'm not saying I'm a genius, but all you other fuckers are wrong. Well, I thought you did a tremendous job. And I won't speak for him.

I feel like I know him a little bit from, you know, talking to him, hanging out with the events. I think Joe would be honored that you took his spot on Saturday night because I know Joe has a lot of admiration for you. And all the fighters for that matter. He's kind of the unicorn now because all the other commentators are former fighters. So he's kind of like the one guy who, you know, and I think everyone kind of holds him in that reverence for good reason, you know, because he is tremendously good at his job. So I think he would be honored that you were sitting in his seat on Saturday night. And I hope we do get to see more paper reviews. Not that I'm saying I want you to take anyone's spot.

I'm not saying like, let's throw DC out of there. No, no, I'm just saying like, I would like to see you get more of those spots because I have been championing you as a commentator since the contender series. And I know you don't need me, you know, pat you on the back for it. But I would like to see them make more of those calls. I hope it happens. Yeah, well, no, thank you very much. And of course, I'd be lying if I didn't say I want to do the biggest events that they have.

But I'm also very happy with my lot. You know, I'd like to earn that space one day. And then maybe you never know, Rogan retires or whatever. who knows, maybe the UFC had fired me off by then. They've got sick of my shit. You never know. It's very possible. I hope not because I absolutely love my job.

I'm so passionate about it. And for me, I mean, I wouldn't say I'd do it for free because I'm doing myself out of money there. But honestly, that's what keeps me so closely connected to the sport. People always ask me, do I miss it? And of course, I miss it a little bit. But the fact that I get to commentate, I'm still so close to the fights. I'm involved with the events. It kind of scratches that itch for me.

And yeah, you know, as I say, I can't wait to comment. commentate in London. I'm going to walk into the octagon, you know, and just walking in the O2 arena. I had so many great fights. It's going to bring back so many memories for me, just little things like that. And I know, the fights aren't about me. They're not about me. They're about the fighters.

But still, for me, it would be a nice little trip down memory lane and to see where I'm at now, see what I how I evolved over the years. I'm very proud of that. And I'm happy with my lot in life. So yeah, I don't pine is what I'm trying to get at. I don't pine for the pay-fews. I really

don't. I have never ever, in fact, I never asked the UFC to be a commentator. Do you know what me? I wanted to. I always wanted to be. But I prefer to be a guy that if they want me, they'll come and ask me. Unfortunately, after a long time doing the desk, he said, do you want to do an audition for the commentary? I started doing some shoot-over events on FightPass, and then I audition for the contender, and that's how it came about. And I'll never sit there and pine for another man's position. You know, I'm very happy with my life. I'm happy with my lot. And I have very, very, very much enjoy commentating the fight nights. It is a freaking hard job.

I did years and years ago when I was coming out of college. I did an audition for doing commentary for something totally different. And it is freaking. That's why I talked to a lot of commentators. I'm always like in reverence what you guys do because it is freaking hard, man. I tried. I auditioned once years ago. And I was like, nope, can't do this.

This is not a job for me. Yeah. And then on Saturday night as well, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I kind of thought in the back of my mind. everyone's going to be judging me here. They want to see, oh, here, someone's filling in for Rogan. Oh, it's bisman, bloody out. We don't need this guy.

Why, they got the Brit filling in for Joe Rogan, you know what I mean? They're about as American as you get, and they got a bloody limine stepping in. Do you know what I'm saying? So I felt a little bit of pressure. The big shoes to fill, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yeah, I thought you did a fantastic job. And I know you're everywhere these days. Before I let you go, it's so funny.

I was going to actually text you this. I'll just tell you to check out you on here on the podcast. I was walking through Best Buy like two weeks ago and I was looking at your Blu-rays, looking at stuff and I see Michael Bisping staring me back on the front of a Blu-ray at my local Best Buy. I took a photo. I was going to text it to you.

So I was like, look at this. I can't get away from this guy. When I'm shopping on my day off, I see Michael Bisping staring back at me. Yeah, no, I apologize. Yeah, no, I am everywhere. And, yeah, I hardly ever see my wife and kids these days. Or on the flip side, I see them all the time

because I do so much of this kind of stuff. I very rarely leave the house. Zoom after Zoom, after Zoom, after Zoom. You know, I like, I'm becoming a bit of a vampire or a recluse, but I'm very grateful for the opportunities. I sit and talk for a living these days, which is weird because when I was on the Ultimate Fighter, I used to get subtitles.

People could not understand the word I said. And yes, of course, my voices evolved over the years. And I talk very differently to when I first came to the UFC. But yeah, yeah, things are. going good, you know, still chipping away with the acting stuff. But hopefully, got three projects locked in for this year. So very excited about that. And, yeah, man, you know, I still have to pinch myself sometimes, you know,

it just goes to show if you're willing to work and you find your niche in life and you go for it, you can, you can turn it around. Absolutely. Well, I appreciate you doing this. As always, Mike, again, incredible job on Saturday night. Are you good? Do you know what finance you're calling coming up? Yeah, the next one will be February 26.

Hold on who was on that card. I should know this, but I don't. Off the top of my head, end of the month. That is Islam, Makhachev and Benil Daryush. And what a fight that is. Can't wait for that one. Yeah, that is correct. So I'm doing that one.

Then I'll be in London. I'm sorry, flying out to Manchester. First, I got my upcoming documentary. So a cheeky little plug, bisping, coming out mid-March, I believe. So check that out. Then I'll do the March 19th event in London. From there, fly straight to Ohio,

Columbus for the 26th, You'll be in my town. I'm in Columbus. There we go. I'll see you there, buddy. Ah, look for it. I actually haven't been to a UFC event in like three years because the pandemic and all the insanity going around. I haven't actually been to a UFC event.

So you're coming to Columbus. So you need anything in Columbus, you know who to give a shot because I live 15 minutes from the arena. So I will be front and center for that one. So I look forward to it. Mike, it is always a pleasure. I really appreciate taking the time. I know you are an incredibly busy person. So I really, really do appreciate doing this.

Thank you, as always, and I look forward to having you back on another episode in the future. Yeah, no, please do. Please don't shy away from asking because, yeah, I am. I'm not trying to brag or nothing. I'm so busy these days. It's kind of drowning a little bit. I've got to learn to start saying no to stuff. But when you asked Damon, and I mean this, I didn't never even contemplate it.

It's like a yes, always, because you've always covered the sport of mixed martial arts, guys like you that helped grow the sport from the knee sport, what it was, to the mainstream sport, that it is today. You're always a great supporter of mine, and I don't forget stuff like that. So thank you very much for the kind words. And as I say, anytime. Absolutely. We'll talk soon, okay? Sounds good, buddy. All the best. Thanks, Damon. There you go. The count, Michael Bisping, the legend, Michael Bisping. Appreciate him being here. I think 23 episodes later to do another addition to the fighter versus the writer. So I appreciate that. Make sure you check us out on

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