If Michael Bisping played another sport — he could trade wins with the competition and still be treated like Terry Bradshaw. Too bad getting kicked in the head doesn’t come with a 14-game learning curve.
With his upcoming bout against C.B. Dollaway scheduled for April 25 at UFC 186, it’s time for “The Count” to put up or shut up. After a disappointing submission loss to Luke Rockhold, a rebound win for the UFC pioneer in dramatic fashion is what the doctor ordered. Forever a media darling with his debonair appearances on UFC Now, Bisping could always talk a big game from the beginning of his career. Classy shoes and boyish charm aside; it’s time to “eat someone’s children” as Mike Tyson so aptly put it.
Bisping isn’t the only one looking to entice people to care about the upcoming fight… Both Dollaway and the UFC are fighting uphill battles to have anyone really “impressed by their performances.” Dollaway is coming off a loss as well, the unmerciful TKO loss via liver kick to Lyoto Machida. He needs a good performance to reassert his place in the 185 pound division in the turbulent months to come for that weight class. So not only is the co-main event a story of bottom ten redemption in a competitive division… The main attraction is another mismatch for the title at flyweight. Another spoiled opportunity for a dominant champion to give the fans what they want on top of a second card in Canada that was nearly abandoned by the media because of injury. Wonderful story of Canadian athletics, “eh”?
While some juice is being pumped back into the event with the now beloved “Countdown to UFC” shows that go in depth with the fighters on a human level… The event itself offers no emotional reason to invest in it. Being optimistic about the future is easy when current events offer little potential for enjoyment. Even if Bisping does have a loyal fan base; this co-main event is no one’s idea of a dream match-up. All the television and social media coverage in world can’t make spectacle out of the mundane personality of Dollaway, anyway. He has the fighting style of stifling defensive maneuvers and the charisma of a statue. Not that Kyoji Horiguchi offers some kind of unique challenge that Demetrious Johnson hasn’t seen before… or even an enticing story for that matter.
So maybe the story of the perennial contender from the home country is the best thing to happen in Canadian MMA in a while… but that isn’t saying much. Let’s hope Zuffa comes to Calgary with a better show than UFC 186.
