Apr-6-2009
The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK Coach’s Blog – Michael Bisping
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By Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping
Winning season three of the Ultimate Fighter in the summer of 2006 changed my life and the life of my family completely. Since I beat Kristian Rothaermel, Ross Pointon and Josh Haynes to win a contract with the UFC, I have fought in front of huge crowds in Las Vegas, New Jersey, Manchester, London, and have also become the first British fighter to headline a UFC pay-per-view event.
It has been a crazy ride, but it all started with ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and I’ve never forgotten that. I have watched every episode of the series since I left the house and, if you remember, when my friend Rampage was the coach of Season 7 I went to the TUF Gym to help his team train.
So when Dana White spoke to me about coming back to TUF as a coach around the time of my last fight at UFC 89 in October, I couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough. And when I was told the concept of the season would be for me to coach a British Team against an American Team, I was very excited.
The day after my win over Chris Leben, I took a train from Birmingham to London to see the TUF tryouts at Earl’s Court. British UFC fighters Paul Taylor, Paul Kelly and Terry Etim also made the journey to show their support.
Over 250 fighters turned up wanting a chance to prove themselves. When I auditioned in December 2005, 30 fighters turned up and, of the 30, there were some guys who clearly didn’t know anything about MMA.
But at the TUF 9 trials over 250 UK fighters turned up at 8:30AM on a cold October’s morning to try-out. I immediately saw some top fighters from the British scene, among them the guys I knew would be coming from my own gym the Wolf’s Lair.
The whole thing brought back memories of when I was stood there in front of Dana White and the producers for the first time.
When I got to the Wolf’s Lair for the eliminators three months later, the last 16 were pretty much the guys I expected to be there with only one or two surprises. It was a little strange sitting there next to both Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin, not knowing which one I would be coaching against and, eventually, facing in the Octagon.
They were due to fight the following weekend and I wanted Henderson to win so I could coach and fight against him. I have a lot of respect for him, having watched all his fights from Pride over the years. And of course Dan did beat Franklin at UFC 93.
The eliminator fights were fantastic. Sitting there next to Dana, Dan, Franklin and the Spike TV crew, I was very proud that the British fighters all came in top shape, all came to fight and all gave their absolute best. The fights were great.
Obviously, at the time I wanted my own teammates like Gary Kelly and David Faulkner to get through to the house. I train with these guys for months at a time, day in day out, and know how much this meant to them. I was happy David got through his fight, and while I was disappointed for Gary I knew that Andre Winner was one of the best lightweights in the room too.
Leaving the Wolf’s Lair after the last night, I felt very confident that I had a team which could go to Las Vegas ready for anything. I remember feeling pressure, because I took the responsibility of leading Team UK seriously, and I knew from experience how important this opportunity was to these guys, but at the same time I felt confident.
Confident that Team UK were going to kick some arse.
Obviously, I can’t say too much about the upcoming episodes, but what I will say is that those who think the Brits came to roll over and be happy to make up the numbers are going to be surprised.
For more information on Michael Bisping, visit Bisping.tv
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