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Cape Town - In five weeks time, Michael 'The Count' Bisping will take on Anderson Silva at UFC London in front of a sold-out O2 Arena on February 27th.
The fight is billed by many to be the biggest UFC fight to ever take place in Britain, and will see the English mixed martial artist finally get to mix it inside the Octagon with the legendary Brazilian according to Jim Edwards of MMALatestNews.com.
Bisping will be fighting in his native country of England for the first time since UFC 120 in October 2010. A fight with Anderson has been in the making for years, however, has never come to fruition due to Bisping failing to win key number one contender bouts against Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen.
Although Silva has since lost his UFC middleweight title, Bisping still sees the bout as the most important in his career and he plans to use a win against the Brazilian in February as means of a springboard to get a title shot later this year:
“I’m going to destroy Anderson Silva; I’m telling you right now,” Bisping told SiriusXM.
“My camp’s going the best it’s ever been. I’m performing better. Mentally, I’m way better than I’ve ever been, and I’m going to destroy this guy. Then after that, I’m going to get the people of London to cheer and make some goddamn noise and demand that I get a title shot.”
Should Bisping be successful against Silva and then demand a title shot, he will be effectively be asking the UFC to book him in a rematch with the current UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold who he met at UFC Fight Night 55 in Sydney, Australia in 2014.
That time around, Rockhold was the victor, finishing Bisping in the second round following a devastating headkick and one-armed guillotine submission finish. Bisping however, claims that a headbutt from Rockhold in the first round turned the fight in his favour and that next time around the result would be different:
“I do believe that Luke Rockhold is going to be in the building when I fight Anderson Silva,” said Bisping.
“Luke Rockhold and I have some unfinished business. He head-butted me in the first round. That’s what I’m looking for [a title shot]. Will the UFC give it to me? Probably not, but I’m going to try. I’m going to try.”
Rockhold will indeed be in the 02 Arena next month having been confirmed by the UFC as the first guest fighter to be in attendance. Whether Bisping will be able to beat Anderson and then go on to face Rockhold remains to be seen, however, we do know that the storyline will play out in a pulsating evening at UFC London on February 27th.
