Bisping on McCarthy, Move to 185
Apr 18, 2008
Michael Bisping
(Pictures) debuts at middleweight
Saturday against Charles
McCarthy (Pictures) at UFC 83 in Montreal. The two
have exchanged words, but several weeks before the chatter began
Sherdog.com spoke with Bisping on his opponent, his transition to
middleweight and his future.
Jim Page: What do you remember of the Rashad Evans (Pictures) fight?
Michael Bisping (Pictures): After the first round, he came out and clinched and I was up against the fence. He was trying to take me down and he couldn't really take me down. That boosted my confidence a little bit because I thought, obviously, that's what he's going to want to do. That's what he does in all his fights -- he likes to take people down and control them on the ground.
I was happy with my takedown defense. I feel I should have pushed
the pace a little bit more in the third round. He won the first
round, I won the second. The third round, he got a bit of a
scrambly takedown right at the end, which probably just got him the
fight. So if I pushed the pace a little bit more, things might have
been a little bit different, but it's easy to say that in
hindsight.
He had a bit of weight on me, but he's one of the top wrestlers in MMA in the world I suppose. So I take a lot of positives away from the fight but obviously lost, so that's a major negative ... just to balance that out!
Page: Is making 185 going to be [easy]?
Bisping: I wouldn't say it's [easy], but it's doable. Basically, it's meant that I've had to be more disciplined. Before I could get away with having a bit of junk food here and there because my weight wasn't an issue. And that's why I always carried a little bit of fat on me. ... Now, you know, the diet has got to be neatened up, so I'm eating better foods. It's better for me, and I'm performing better.
I'm carrying less weight, so I should be a bit faster. I've got a strength and conditioning coach that's helping me out now. Since the Rashad fight, I've got a nutritionist who's helping me. I'm taking everything up to the next level. After losing the fight, I sat back and looked at everything and thought, ‘What can I improve on in my preparation?' Once I started looking, there was quite a few things. So it's made me tweak everything to take it up to the next level of professionalism.
Page: What do you know about Charles McCarthy (Pictures)?
Bisping: I don't know too much about him really. I saw him on ‘The Ultimate Fighter' a little bit. He's beaten 10 guys and he fights in the UFC, so he can't be a chump. He obviously knows what he's doing. He's won most of his fights by submission. From what I've seen of his fights, he does look skilled on the floor. He looks like he's better on the ground than he is stood up. So from that, I'm working on the assumption that he's probably going to want to take me down and try and submit me on the ground. I don't know, maybe not.
I always hold my own [with the BJJ black belts at the Wolfslair], so I don't think that's going to be a problem. It's my first fight at 185. I want to go in, I want to knock him out, which I'm gonna do, and I want people to say, ‘Shit, he could be a contender for the belt.' Hopefully.
Page: What are your ambitions in the sport?
Bisping: I've got two ambitions. One is to make a successful living and provide for my family. Ultimately, first and foremost. But the best way of doing that is by being the champion, and that's what I want. Everything's really based around getting the belt. That's what I want to do. I feel that I'm improving all the time. I know the areas I need to improve on and work on and I'm doing that. I don't think I'm the best fighter in the world, far from it. I know I've got a lot of faults, but I'm working on them. I'm determined and I'm on a mission. I want to have three fights this year and three knockouts.
Jim Page: What do you remember of the Rashad Evans (Pictures) fight?
Michael Bisping (Pictures): After the first round, he came out and clinched and I was up against the fence. He was trying to take me down and he couldn't really take me down. That boosted my confidence a little bit because I thought, obviously, that's what he's going to want to do. That's what he does in all his fights -- he likes to take people down and control them on the ground.
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He had a bit of weight on me, but he's one of the top wrestlers in MMA in the world I suppose. So I take a lot of positives away from the fight but obviously lost, so that's a major negative ... just to balance that out!
I'm not a light heavyweight and never have been really. Now I'm
under 93 kilos and I'm nine weeks away from the fight. It took that
to make me move to middleweight, and I'm going to do it. I'm
looking forward to it.
Page: Is making 185 going to be [easy]?
Bisping: I wouldn't say it's [easy], but it's doable. Basically, it's meant that I've had to be more disciplined. Before I could get away with having a bit of junk food here and there because my weight wasn't an issue. And that's why I always carried a little bit of fat on me. ... Now, you know, the diet has got to be neatened up, so I'm eating better foods. It's better for me, and I'm performing better.
I'm carrying less weight, so I should be a bit faster. I've got a strength and conditioning coach that's helping me out now. Since the Rashad fight, I've got a nutritionist who's helping me. I'm taking everything up to the next level. After losing the fight, I sat back and looked at everything and thought, ‘What can I improve on in my preparation?' Once I started looking, there was quite a few things. So it's made me tweak everything to take it up to the next level of professionalism.
Page: What do you know about Charles McCarthy (Pictures)?
Bisping: I don't know too much about him really. I saw him on ‘The Ultimate Fighter' a little bit. He's beaten 10 guys and he fights in the UFC, so he can't be a chump. He obviously knows what he's doing. He's won most of his fights by submission. From what I've seen of his fights, he does look skilled on the floor. He looks like he's better on the ground than he is stood up. So from that, I'm working on the assumption that he's probably going to want to take me down and try and submit me on the ground. I don't know, maybe not.
I always hold my own [with the BJJ black belts at the Wolfslair], so I don't think that's going to be a problem. It's my first fight at 185. I want to go in, I want to knock him out, which I'm gonna do, and I want people to say, ‘Shit, he could be a contender for the belt.' Hopefully.
Page: What are your ambitions in the sport?
Bisping: I've got two ambitions. One is to make a successful living and provide for my family. Ultimately, first and foremost. But the best way of doing that is by being the champion, and that's what I want. Everything's really based around getting the belt. That's what I want to do. I feel that I'm improving all the time. I know the areas I need to improve on and work on and I'm doing that. I don't think I'm the best fighter in the world, far from it. I know I've got a lot of faults, but I'm working on them. I'm determined and I'm on a mission. I want to have three fights this year and three knockouts.
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