Dec 24, 2015 BRITISH fans desperate for a big-time main event for UFC Fight Night London have been handed a MASSIVE Christmas present with the announcement of a middleweight superfight. UFC president Dana White delivered Christmas Eve confirmation via Twitter that Britain’s own Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping will face Brazilian superstar and former undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the world Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva in the headline bout at The O2 Arena on February 27. Bisping has been gunning for a fight with Silva for years, dating back to the days when the Brazilian sat at the top of the UFC’s 185-pound division as the sport’s pound-for-pound No.1 fighter. Three times Bisping came to within one win of a shot at then-champion Silva, but three times he fell at the final hurdle. Those defeats came to Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort, with all three fighters powered by the now-banned practice of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). A win over any one of that trio (and even Sonnen himself admitted he thought Bisping won their fight) would have seen the Brit in a title fight with ‘The Spider’ in what would have been the biggest bout of all time for the sport in this country. But now, with the UFC bringing the Octagon back to England for the first time in two years, the pair will finally meet and ‘the fight that might have been’ will now become a reality on Saturday February 27. Silva is looking to rebuild his legacy after losing twice to Chris Weidman, then receiving an anti-doping ban following his comeback win over Nick Diaz at UFC 183. The Brazilian is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters to ever set foot inside the Octagon and has a highlight reel of knockouts and fight finishes that will live long after his retirement from the sport. ‘The Spider’ still holds the records for the longest run of successive UFC championship defences with 10, and consecutive wins (16) and has picked up a dozen UFC post-fight bonuses during his glittering career. Bisping, meanwhile, has continued to campaign for a title shot at 185lbs and is looking to claim a marquee win to put himself in the championship discussion in a crowded middleweight division. The Brit has fought a remarkable 23 times in the UFC and has played a major role in the growth of the sport in this country, with his media-friendly persona proving hugely valuable to the promotion as they’ve looked to grow the sport on this side of the pond. Bisping has a perfect record when competing on British soil, winning seven out of seven under the UFC banner, and will be looking to make it eight in a row in arguably the biggest mixed martial arts bout ever staged on UK soil. And most recently, he defeated a man who went the distance with Silva in a title fight earlier in his career, Thales Leites, to take his career record to 27 wins, 7 losses. Bisping’s originally-scheduled opponent, former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi, may still feature on the UFC London card, with UFC officials confirming to SunSport that they were exploring potential replacement options for the Dutchman. The event, which sold out just 27 minutes after going on general sale earlier this month, will be shown on the UFC’s digital streaming service UFC Fight Pass.
Dec 25, 2015 @Poohdini do you watch a lot of UFC events or are you more of casual fan? f--- that I'd watch Anderson Silva on or off steroids even if he's 40.
Dec 25, 2015 Kind of in the middle, been getting back into it recently though. Seems like every divison is stacked and there's really good fights on every few weeks.
Dec 25, 2015 I guess it's on FP so I won't have to spend $60 if I really wanted to watch this fight... When's Silva's last win?
Dec 25, 2015 Counting the Nick Diaz fight, January 2015. Not counting the Diaz Fight October 2012. He fought twice in 2013 to Weidman losing both.
