Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping is a professional Mixed Martial Artist from England who is currently contracted to perform with the Ultimate Fighting Championship or the UFC, the premier Mixed Martial Arts promotion in the world. Although he fights as a Middleweight in the 185 lbs division of the UFC, he is a former holder of the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Championship and also won the Light Heavyweight Tournament at The Ultimate Fighter 3.

According to the latest rankings released in March 2013, Bisping is ranked at 6^th in the list of Middleweights compiled by Sherdog while UFC ranks him at 4^th in their Middleweight rankings. Bisping took his bow as a professional in Mixed Martial Arts when he fought against Steve Mathews at Pride & Glory 2: Battle of the Ages in 2004. Michael Bisping also featured at the UK MMA Challenge: Rage and Fury and won his match via knockout against John Weir.

Bisping won the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Championship in just his third match as a professional Mixed Martial Artist at Cage Rage 7, defeating Mark Epstein and he defended the title again in a rematch against Epstein at Cage Rage 9, a win that would earn him widespread accolade as the best Light Heavyweight fighter in England.

After going through several promotions since the beginning of 2005, Bisping was signed up by the UFC in 2006 and he made an appearance in the reality show The Ultimate Fighter 3, where he was trained by the legendary Tito Ortiz.

He went on to win the Light Heavyweight Tournament that season and was given a professional contract by the UFC. However, Michael Bisping moved down a weight class to Middleweight where he has been fighting ever since then and is one of the toughest competitors inside the UFC Octagon according to his fellow professionals.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy or TRT has come under immense scrutiny over the past few years, sparking hot debates among the fighting community regarding its use – while many fighters consider it as a great leveler; some others believe it is nothing but another method of cheating; the only difference being it is approved by the commission. And among the detractors of this therapy is the former number one contender for the Ultimate Fighting Championship or the UFC Middleweight Championship Michael Bisping.

To put it in simple words, what TRT implies is that it is an exemption that is given to fighters by their respective athletic commissions who have very low levels of testosterone in their body in order to bump the levels up drastically, and thus, provide a level playing field for the competitors, but several of the fighters oppose TRT on the grounds that many athletes use it to gain unfair advantage. Michael Bisping lost his last match in the UFC to UFC legend Vitor Belfort, causing him to slip down the pecking order where as a win would have put him in contention for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

However, it was later revealed that Belfort had been given an exemption to use TRT before the match. Typically, most people think it is alright for a 35 year old athlete to use TRT but given the past record of Belfort, where he failed a dope test in 2006 following his loss against Dan Henderson is something that has The Count extremely agitated.

Michael Bisping stated that the whole TRT is a way to manipulate the system and hence, it is extremely dangerous. Bisping is gearing up to take on Alan Belcher at UFC 159 in the co-main event of the Chael Sonnen v/s Jon Jones fight card on the 27^th of April.

Englishman Michael Bisping, a Middleweight contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship or the UFC has come out with a statement for the first time since the UFC announced the results of the dope test following UFC on FOX 7, and according to The Count, he is extremely disappointed by the way Vitor Belfort was given an exemption to undergo the highly controversial Testosterone Replacement Therapy just before their fight where the Englishman suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Brazilian, dealing a severe blow to his hopes of getting a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Bisping suffered a technical knockout at the hands of the Brazilian in the second round of their encounter which has inevitably cost him the chance to face Anderson Silva, the UFC Middleweight champion at a time when a win would have all but guaranteed him a chance at facing him for the title. It has since been revealed by the UFC officials that Belfort, who had tested positive for the use of steroids in 2006 had been given a therapeutic exemption to the use of the controversial method.

Michael Bisping had previously stated his opinion about the use of TRT and how he opposes it and had mentioned that he had lost to Belfort because he made a mistake and Vitor was cunning enough to take advantage of it. And he mentioned that although he didn’t like it, that was the bottom line and he has to accept it.

He went on to state that he had made his views upon TRT quite clear over the last few years before a major fight and that there should not be any exception. Michael Bisping is slated to return to the ring in April against Alan Belcher as he looks to get back in the title chase.