Tag: The Ultimate Fighter 14

TUF 14 Finale: Michael Bisping Proves He is a Title Contender at 185 Pounds

Michael Bisping earned his fourth consecutive victory after defeating Jason “Mayhem” Miller this past weekend at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale. After being dominated throughout the first round, Bisping utilized his technical boxing skills to pick…

Michael Bisping earned his fourth consecutive victory after defeating Jason “Mayhem” Miller this past weekend at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale. 

After being dominated throughout the first round, Bisping utilized his technical boxing skills to pick apart his opponent and defeat Miller via TKO in the third round. 

The win improved the Englishman’s UFC record to 12-3 while the loss gave Miller his first defeat since 2009. 

Bisping’s status as one of the best middleweights in mixed martial arts was officially noticed as “The Count” emerged virtually unscathed or beaten in his one-sided victory over Miller. Bisping picked apart Miller as he wisely utilized his technical boxing skills to batter and bully his opponent into forcing referee Steve Mazzagatti to call a stoppage to the bout.

It showed a lot of heart on Bisping’s part as well as some much needed credibility to his image, considering his antics on this past season and his incident against Jorge Rivera didn’t win him over with any fans.

It is unclear who Bisping’s future opponent will be, but it will likely be against one of the top 10 competitors at 185 pounds. 

Should Bisping earn a win over a more credible and competitive opponent, he could see himself next in line for a title shot in the near future. Bisping’s recent competition hasn’t necessarily been something to award him an opportunity at facing the UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, but a fifth consecutive victory might be able to raise the British slugger’s image as a potential threat. 

Although most fans might actually debate upon whether or not Bisping poses any real challenge to the Brazilian’s title reign, fans and critics must give Bisping the respect and recognition as a top contender in the middleweight division.

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TUF 14 Finale: Michael Bisping Deserves a Title Shot

After completely dominating Jason “Mayhem” Miller in the second and third rounds of The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale main event, it’s time for Michael Bisping to get his shot at Anderson Silva. Realistically, Bisping probably just now entered the t…

After completely dominating Jason “Mayhem” Miller in the second and third rounds of The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale main event, it’s time for Michael Bisping to get his shot at Anderson Silva.

Realistically, Bisping probably just now entered the top five of the division with his win tonight and is sitting behind Chael Sonnen, Mark Munoz and Yushin Okami in the middleweight rankings, but due to the lack of competition at 185 lbs., Bisping could get a shot sooner than one might think.

Out of the four fighters above, it can be argued that Bisping has the strongest case of all of them to get a shot at Silva.

Okami is one of the best middleweights in the world, but he was just beaten badly by Silva in his last fight and needs to win quite a few fights to get another shot.

Munoz is on a four-fight win streak similar to Bisping’s, with wins over Aaron Simpson, C.B. Dollaway, Demian Maia and Chris Leben, but the UFC may be hesitant to throw Munoz in there with Silva since he is unknown by most casual fans.

Sonnen is clearly the fighter that the UFC would love to book in Silva’s next title fight, but let’s be honest, he has won only one fight since being finished by Silva at UFC 117.

The way the division sits now, it seems that the winner of Sonnen and Munoz’s fight on FOX in late January will receive the next title shot.

Even if Bisping has to take another fight before he gets a shot at Silva, it is clear that he deserves a title fight more than the rest of the top contenders.

“The Count” has beaten Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Jorge Rivera and Mayhem in his last four fights and has won five of his last six, with the lone loss coming via a close decision to Wanderlei Silva at UFC 110, a fight Bisping still believes he won.

If by some miracle Anderson Silva recovers in time to fight before the winner of Sonnen and Munoz is ready to get their shot, it should be Bisping that gets a crack at solving the puzzle that is “The Spider.”

While Bisping will be a huge underdog in the fight, and rightfully so, he has earned a shot to shock the world and the UFC should oblige him.

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TUF 14 Results: Sonnen Says, "Bisping Isn’t Worth the Time"

Michael “The Count” Bisping has barely had time to celebrate his victory over Jason “Mayhem” Miller and already the most infamous trash talker in MMA history, Chael Sonnen, has put in his two cents on Bisping’s performance.Prior to this eveni…

Michael “The Count” Bisping has barely had time to celebrate his victory over Jason “Mayhem” Miller and already the most infamous trash talker in MMA history, Chael Sonnen, has put in his two cents on Bisping’s performance.

Prior to this evening’s event, it had been widely speculated that the winner of Bisping vs. Miller would go on to face Sonnen, but Sonnen seems to have no interest in fighting The Count.

Via twitter, Sonnen let the world know what he thinks of a potential fight with Bisping:

“Bisping isn’t worth the time. Hey, what do you say we give em a show. For ole times sake….”

Evidently, Sonnen is more interested in a fight with top middleweight contender Mark Munoz. The winner of that fight likely earning the next title shot.

The “for ole times sake” portion of the tweet is in reference to the fact that Sonnen and Munoz actually wrestled each other years ago when both were decorated amateur wrestlers.

It was a matchup that Munoz won.

Apparently, Sonnen is looking to avenge that defeat from long ago.

Bisping has yet to offer any response to Sonnen’s tweet, but there is no doubting he will not be happy with the prospect of Sonnen and Munoz fighting while he waits in the wings.

Leading into his fight with Miller, Bisping talked about his belief that he is one of the best middleweights on the planet and also expressed his interest in fighting for the title.

Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for more as this story develops.

Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. For updates on what’s happening in the world of MMA, follow him on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/AndrewBarr8.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 14 Finale Results: 4 Fights to Get Jason "Mayhem" Miller Back on Track

After weeks of trash talk, Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Michael Bisping met in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale Saturday night. Although Miller had the crowd on his side, Miller was not able to get the victory. Miller is a popu…

After weeks of trash talk, Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Michael Bisping met in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale Saturday night.

Although Miller had the crowd on his side, Miller was not able to get the victory.

Miller is a popular fighter and one of the best showmen in MMA today.

Now that he has the UFC jitters out of the way, here are some fights he should take to get him back on track. 

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TUF 14 Finale Results: 4 Things Jason "Mayhem" Miller Needs to Improve On

Jason “Mayhem” Miller fought in the UFC Saturday night for the first time in six years and, unfortunately, it was not a successful return.Miller met Michael Bisping in the cage to settle a feud that his been building for months.The two middleweight fig…

Jason “Mayhem” Miller fought in the UFC Saturday night for the first time in six years and, unfortunately, it was not a successful return.

Miller met Michael Bisping in the cage to settle a feud that his been building for months.

The two middleweight fighters coached opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter 14 and it quickly became evident that they did not get along.

Though it would have been sweet for Miller to beat a rival and make a successful return to the UFC all in the same night, Bisping was the better man in the TUF finale, while Miller will have to go back to the drawing board.

Anytime a fighter loses, it’s important they carefully analyze their performance and assess the areas that they need to focus and improve on.

With that in mind, here are four things Miller could improve on, based on his latest performance.

 

Cardio

It can’t be denied that Miller’s cardio was just not there against Bisping.

He gassed after one-and-a-half rounds, which at this level of fighting, there is no excuse for.

Joe Rogan speculated that Miller’s cardio issues could be attributed to an adrenaline dump due to such an extensive break from the Octagon, but when asked about it after the fight, Miller did not want to make any excuses.

Why Miller’s cardio was so bad versus Bisping is something we might never know, but it is significant nonetheless.

 

Technical Striking

Early in the fight, Miller was able to throw Bisping off using his unorthodox, leaping style of striking. But eventually, Bisping, the more technical striker, was able to figure out Miller’s timing and capitalize on openings.

Miller’s striking is unique, and that is a good thing, but he needs to find a way to keep that uniqueness, while tightening it up on a technical level.

Otherwise he will continue to be picked apart by the more technical strikers in the middleweight division.

 

Striking Defense

Miller seemed far too content to just eat punches in the fight.

His fatigue might have been a contributing factor, but as the fight progressed, Miller seemed to have no interest in dodging Bisping’s strikes.

This resulted in some cuts and swelling on Miller’s face, which did nothing to help get his breath back; it’s hard to relax your breathing when being punched in the face.

 

Take Things More Seriously

The UFC is the biggest stage in all of mixed martial arts and anyone who is given the honor to compete in the promotion should come into their fight ready to go.

Again, there is no real excuse for Miller’s poor cardio, especially considering he was supposed to be prepared for a scheduled five-round fight.

Let’s hope that we see a better version of Miller next time he steps into the Octagon.

 

Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. For updates on what’s happening in the world of MMA, follow him on Twitterhttp://twitter.com/#!/AndrewBarr8.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TUF 14 Finale Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 has concluded. Diego Brandao and John Dodson have proven that they are the 14h incarnations of the Ultimate Fighter, and Michael Bisping exposed Jason “Mayhem” Miller as overrated.There were other fights throughout the ni…

The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 has concluded. Diego Brandao and John Dodson have proven that they are the 14h incarnations of the Ultimate Fighter, and Michael Bisping exposed Jason “Mayhem” Miller as overrated.

There were other fights throughout the night that not only entertained but answered questions and taught the MMA world valuable lessons.

What were these fights and what was learned? Read and find out!

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