Tag: Michael Bisping

Michael “The Three Count” Bisping might just be making his pro wrestling debut if All Elite Wrestling (AEW) comes a-callin’.

Historically, MMA and pro wrestling have always been linked, both in terms of business formula and, on many occasions, the talent.

Names like Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, and Don Frye were among the first fighters to wear both hats, followed by Lesnarmania that ran wild through the UFC, and more recent crossover examples like Bobby Lashley and Jake Hager.

There has particularly been a surge of MMA talent dappling in rasslin’ world as of late, with several fighters over at American Top Team appearing regularly on AEW. This includes former UFC heavyweight champions Junior dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski, who have made their in-ring pro wrestling debuts with the promotion recently.

Michael Bisping has taken notice of the ATT invasion of AEW, and he may just want to throw his name in the ring as well (h/t PWTorch).

“Hey, never say never, but I do know that professional wrestling, whilst it is a performance, it is very tough on the body” said Bisping on Radican Worldwide. “My body went through the wringer in the UFC, but hey listen… give me a call, give me a call. There you go. It looks like a lot of fun and I’m so happy to see Junior dos Santos and other members of the American Top Team making a successful transition into something else after fighting.”

One essential ingredient to making it in the rasslin’ business is knowing how to work a microphone. This is one thing Bisping has never struggled at. Whether it’s tearing his opponents down a peg before a fight with his trash talk or crushing it in the commentating booth or podcast studio, Bisping has always had a way with words.

That being said, if the 42-year-old former UFC champion decides to take up another post-retirement project, pro wrestling could certainly be a viable option.

“As a former athlete myself, a fighter, a lot of fighters or athletes struggle with what they are going to do post-fight career,” said Bisping. “I’m always happy to see someone else thriving and that’s why for myself when I was professional athlete I was always terrified as to what I was going to do afterwards, so things like this I’m forever grateful for. I’m truly passionate about my acting career.

“Obviously, I still got a long long way to go, but I study hard and do everything I can to be the best version of myself that I can. Fortunately, I got a few roles lined up for next year and so far so good, but yeah if AEW needed a one-eyed Brit, give me a call.”

If Bisping doesn’t want all that wear and tear on his body but still wants to leave his mark in professional wrestling, he could always just stick to the smack talk as a heel manager. And if things turn violent, “The Count” would be more than capable of taking care of himself in a very real way, believe you me.

Do you think Michael Bisping would be a good fit in the world of professional wrestling?

Michael Bisping is revealing some trade secrets from inside the UFC APEX.

Since last year the UFC has held the majority of the events inside the small UFC APEX Center. The intimate location allowed the UFC to safely hold events throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With no fans allowed, the first thing many noticed was how quiet it was during the live fights. The question that began to rise was did that quiet have an effect on the outcome of the fight?

Michael Bisping has been cage side for many of these APEX fights and feels that the commentary, his included, could sway the decisions of the judges. He spoke about this on his Believe You Me Podcast.

“So there is a potential for that. However, if the judge was good at his job and had his own opinion and if he had a strong mind, confidence in his pick, confidence in his opinion,” Bisping explained. “If he knew the sport and he was breaking it down then he should ignore us anyway. But I guess we are all human beings. You know what I mean.”

Bisping became a color commentator for the UFC back in 2018 following a long fight career. He is outspoken on the mic and likes to air his opinions. Since the UFC Apex began to house these events some fighters claimed that they could hear the broadcast team and that they made some adjustments accordingly. If the fighters can hear then probably so can everyone else.

“If you are torn between, ‘oh, I’m not sure, it was close, this guy, that guy’. And DC [Daniel Cormier] arguing the takedown and I’m like, ‘Well no, he got back to his feet’. And he hears that, hey listen, judges are human beings,” Bisping continued. “I don’t know, that’s a really interesting question. The judges are kind of far from us. But still I would assume in the early days, now I feel that that’s eradicated. There’s a bit of a crowd, there’s more atmosphere, it is louder.”

Lately, a few fighters have been called out for biased commentary. Among those who were blamed were Daniel Cormier, Paul Felder, and Joe Rogan. As a former fighter, there are bound to be certain feelings towards the other fighters. Either they have fought one another or maybe trained together. In the end, commentators are there to give info during the fight. The judges should be making their own decisions without influence.

Do you think the judges are being influenced by what the commentary team is saying?