Michael Bisping came into his UFC 186 fight on Saturday night against CB Dollaway determined to prove that he was more than just a gatekeeper for the UFC's middleweight division.
And after a hard fought unanimous decision victory over Dollaway, the 23-fight UFC veteran may finally be on his way to losing the "longest-tenured fighter to never fight for a championship" label.
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Prior to tonight's fight inside the Bell Centre in Montreal, Bisping was just 3-4 in his last seven fights and was coming off a loss to surging UFC contender Luke Rockhold. Consistency has been the name of the game in the 36-year-old's decade-long UFC career and Bisping knows he has more convincing to do if he ever wants to see gold in his future.
"Listen, I know more than anybody I've had my setbacks," said Bisping post-fight, "but trust me, I'm still working. I have the potential [and] believe you me, I'm going nowhere. I want this more than anyone. I will be champion one day.
It is hard reconciling with the fact that an up-and-down fighter like Bisping could ever reach promotional gold, but Saturday's performance undoubtedly showed the continued evolution of "The Count" ? something fans were first witness to in his mostly striking-heavy domination of stand-up wizard Cung Le in Aug. 2014.
On Saturday, Bisping showcased his takedown defense at the most opportune moments, to secure a very close decision win over Dollaway. Of course, there was the signature counter-punching and rangy jab from Bisping, but when the fight got tough, Bisping got tough ? most notably towards the end of round one when Dollaway unleashed a hellish left hook that floored Bisping. It was the same punch that Dollaway used to dispatch of TUF Brazil winner Cezar Ferreira in March 2014. Bisping fought off the oncoming storm that followed from his opponent and even managed a flurry of his own to end the round.
The end of round two saw Dollaway earn a well-timed takedown to finish the round, but it came after plenty of big left hooks from Dollaway and counter shots from Bisping on the feet.
In the dwindling seconds of the third and final frame ? and after even more stand-up exchanges than in the round prior ? Dollaway went for another round-stealing takedown. This time Bisping was prepared, sprawling with textbook precision, turning Dollaway onto the mat and raining down punches. There was a scramble to the feet in the final 10 seconds with Bisping connecting on a solid hook on the feet to end the round.
It all added up to a (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) unanimous decision victory for brash Brit. After, Bisping continued to elaborate on the fight and give praise to Dollaway (sort of) after their entertaining scrap.
"CB Dollaway, he's tough man," he said. "Hell of a fight. I did think he would be easier, but this is the UFC and he's a top-10 guy."
"His standup was better than I thought it would be to be honest. He got me with a few good shots ? congratulations."
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Mac Danzig Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis Tony DeSouza
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