Many consider Michael Bisping to be one of the best trash-talkers in the sport of mixed martial arts, however this time he doesn’t feel the need for it.
His opponent at the TUF Nations Finale this Wednesday night, Tim Kennedy, has been using his brand “Ranger Up” to make a mockery of the Brit with spoof videos.
Bisping doesn’t think much of the videos, in fact he doesn’t even like to say the companies name.
“This company, and I don’t like to say their name, but it is Ranger Up — they’re a wannabe, two-bit clothing company and they probably sell out of their car trunks at some minor events and things like that,” Bisping told MMASucka.com. “They’re trying to sell products and Tim Kennedy is the owner of this, so he’s trying to use this as a way to market his own product. I’ll be honest, in my boredom, I did look at the website and the stuff is just terrible so it’s never going to go anywhere.”
One would think that there is some serious bad blood between Bisping and Kennedy, but according to “The Count” he has never even met the Special Forces Sergeant. He doesn’t intend on getting to know Kennedy either, in fact he wants to get in and out of the Octagon and then never hear from him again.
“Yes there is ill feeling, but I’ve never met the guy and I have no opinion of the guy. Right from the start of this fight being announced and prior to that, and on Twitter being very personally insulting over the past two or three years,” Bisping said. “Obviously that is going to grow a bit of resentment from my camp, but as I said, I’ve never met him and he could be a decent guy. All these things together; yes, I don’t care for the guy, I’m going to beat him on Wednesday night and then I never want to hear from him ever again.”
The 35-year old believes that he is the reason behind this fight garnering the attention, not necessarily the videos that Kennedy is doing.
“Everyone is saying this is a fight everyone wants to see. I don’t want to sound really arrogant, but if I wasn’t in this fight, nobody would give a damn. If he hadn’t had done all these videos and acted like an idiot, then nobody would give a damn. When you think of UFC and exciting match-ups, Tim Kennedy’s name is not up there or you don’t think of Tim Kennedy as one of the marquee fighters.”
On this past weeks episode of ‘The MMA Hour’ with Ariel Helwani, Kennedy made mention on a number of occasions that Bisping was a cheater and a dirty fighter. Bisping believes that all of the allegations of him grabbing the fence, eye poking or kicking the groin are completely false.
“Tim Kennedy is quite an awkward fellow and that’s probably why a lot of the problems come up. He kind of looks a little strange, he’s short and he’s definitely got the Napoleon complex. His mom and dad probably weren’t that kind to him, he’s pushing 40, he’s doesn’t have any kids and he’s probably impotent. I kind of feel sorry for the guy.”
“It’s complete lies and completely manufactured. He portrays himself as this American hero and this soldier, I’m sure Captain America in the new release of the movie isn’t going around telling lies and dressing up as a woman and acting like an idiot on camera. I’m sure he’s going in there, handling business and kicking ass. In that interview he said that I always eye poke, I always kick to the groin, I always grab the fence — in 20 something fights in the UFC, I’ve only had one point deducted ever. I’ve never been known as a dirty fighter, I’ve never been questioned by the commission, prior to every fight we have to be licensed. It’s just nonsense and he’s trying to paint me as the bad guy. That’s fine, paint me as the bad guy all you want, because I will be the bad guy on Wednesday night when I take your head clean off your shoulders and then that’s it, goodbye.”
Last year, Bisping suffered a detached retina, which required surgery. This injury forced him out of his planned main event battle against Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night 30 and has had him out of action for over a year. He not only feels like he is more prepared than ever, he also feels he is the best version of himself that he has ever been.
“It has no impact whatsoever. The eye injury was certainly a serious thing at the time, but that’s fully behind me now. 100% behind me and it hasn’t affected me at training at all. One of the main things I do in training is sparring, I love to spar. In my opinion that’s the best way to prepare for a fight and I do lots and lots of sparring. Not once did it affect me and I’ll be honest, I’m going in to this fight the best version of myself that I’ve ever been. I’m faster, I’m the sharpest, my techniques the best, I’m generating more power and I’m certainly not going in there handicapped.”
Being out of action for almost one-year to the date, Bisping has changed as a fighter. He feels that he is much smarter when it comes to training and his mental game is on point.
“I think mentally I’m stronger. Certainly after everything I went through with the eye and as I said, I’m older and more mature. I train smarter now, in the past I always thought more was more, but sometimes less is more when it comes to training. Sometimes you have to listen to your body and have the confidence to take a day off or an afternoon off. It takes confidence to realize that I’m training really hard and my body is in a lot of pain and I need a day off midweek perhaps. If you’re mentally weak, you’ll think, ‘no I have to train, I have to train.’ So I’ve learned sometimes less is more. I train smarter and I believe in my own skill set.”
Known as a guy to be called out and not one to call out opponents, Bisping has his sights set high after this fight. Being ranked at number five in the world at this point on the UFC rankings list, the TUF 3 winner hopes to get on the microphone and stake his claim on the division.
“Absolutely, 100%. A lot of people call me out after fights and I never quite understand it. I’m ranked number four or five in the world, which is great, but if you’re in the top 10 and you win and you get on the microphone why on earth do you call out the number four or five guy. When I knockout Tim Kennedy on Wednesday night and I get on the microphone, I’m calling out the champion. Whoever wins the fight between [Lyoto] Machida and [Chris] Weidman that’s who I want to fight. I don’t want the number four guy, I want the number one guy.”
The TUF Nations Finale goes down this Wednesday night from the Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and you can catch the action live on FOX Sports 1.
