Table is set for Michael Bisping to seek a bounce back win in the UK. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Michael Bisping wants to answer the question that has lingered since the UFC 100 loss to Dan Henderson.
How will ‘The Count’ bounce back?
Bisping gets his chance Saturday against Denis Kang at UFC 105, which airs for free on Spike TV. Bisping was touted as the possible next contender for the UFC middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva.
Then in a flash, Henderson’s big right hand sent Bisping and his title aspirations crashing to the Octagon mat.
Now, Bisping dropped the usual jargon that is associated with a fighter after a brutal knockout defeat, insisting that he is training harder to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“I’m coming off of a loss. We all know my last performance wasn’t my best. I want to prove that I’m on a good level of fighting,” Bisping (17-2) said. “I have to come back with a big solid win. All of the sudden I take it seriously. Nobody wants to lose two in a row, especially me.
The knockout has given confidence to Kang, who admits that he’s is confident that he is better than Bisping in all areas. Bisping shrugged it off, adding he expects it to come from a fighter.
“I completely understand that he thinks he’s better than me,” Bisping said. “He has to think that. He has to believe that.”
Bisping spoke in great detail about the loss, saying that he might have overtrained for the fight and the layoff between the filming of the last episode might have played a part.
He would like another crack at Henderson, but in the meantime, he’ll have to focus on Kang, who is 1-1 in UFC action.
“It was the first [KO defeat] in my career,” Bisping said. “I’ve brought tougher guys in sparring. I’m driven and focused on this fight.”
Bisping will have an extra boost when he fights Kang. He’ll be fighting in front of his home country, which should give him an extra boost of energy and a little bit of pressure to add with it.
Bisping hasn’t fought in Manchester since UFC 70, where he knocked out Elvis Sinosic.
“I always count on that pressure,” Bisping said. “[The crowd] makes me perform better. It fuels me. It makes me feel better to be honest.”
The hostile audience doesn’t bother Kang at all. He’s fought in Japan, Korea and Russia, and most of the time; he’s the foreign invader and fighting a home town favorite.
“It’s just like any other fight. There’s always pressure,” Kang said. “I rarely fight at home. I’m used to being like that. I don’t focus on where I am. The most important thing is being in the ring or cage.”
While for Bisping, it’s an opportunity rebound from a devastating loss, for Kang it’s an opportunity to pick up a win over a marquee name and move one step closer to a potential shot for the title.
“Yeah, you can say it’s one of the biggest fights in my career,” Kang said. “It’s on the big stage, and I’m fighting against a top-level opponent. I have more expectations I’m training hard than normal.”
I give it to kang on this one. No offense to any bisping fans but I feel his fight with henderson showed the holes ive always saw in his game. Never really like his attitude anyways. Kang by submission.
bisping is going to rebound off the cage after kang smacks him into it full power.kang is going to smash bisping.bisping is good but no-way near as good as kang.its a fight and we saw the beltcher match where he got submitted so theres always a chance for a sneaky sub.no kang is going to ko him harder than hendo did.
Kang all the way
Kang KO’s Bisping and the UFC cuts his ass!!!
Kang is definately really sick, but Bisping ain’t that bad. I don’t really like Bisping’s attitude either, and I’m a Kang fan, but Kang seems like he always finds a way to lose in the really big fights. He dominated round 1 against Belcher, then basically gave Alan the guillotine in round 2. Same thing back in DREAM when he fought Mousasi. He had Mousasi on his back, then he pretty much dove head-first into Mousasi’s triangle choke. Kang always seems to do pretty well on his feet though, and I’m expecting him to be stronger than Bisping. I expect Kang to bully his way to a tko or decision victory.
that may be more realistic…Bisping doesn’t have that Dan Henderson type power in his hands and Kang will be stronger so I can see a bullying decision. He should keep it on the feet and Kang will be on his way to a bigger test. Dennis Kang is a nice infusion to the Middleweight Division. I don’t think he is the one who will beat Anderson Silva but he makes for a lot of good fights with the other Middleweights in the UFC.