Michael Bisping has proven that a fighter in the supposed twilight of his career can excel at the highest level of mixed martial arts. The reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight titleholder will celebrate his 38th birthday on Feb. 28.

Bisping burst on the global scene as an undefeated prospect in 2006, when he won Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. “The Count” has been a staple of the UFC ever since. Still going strong more than a decade later, Bisping now ranks first on the promotion’s all-time list in career wins (20). However, even he had to wonder if he would ever reach the sport’s summit. Bisping enjoyed a stellar 2016 campaign, as he claimed a unanimous decision from Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 84 before upsetting Luke Rockhold to capture the undisputed middleweight crown in a short-notice assignment at UFC 199. The Brit then settled some unfinished business with Dan Henderson -- the two-division Pride Fighting Championships titleholder had savagely knocked out Bisping in 2009 -- at UFC 204 on Oct. 8, as he retained his belt with a five-round unanimous decision at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

While his next title defense remains unscheduled, Bisping figures to face 2000 Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero sometime in the first half of 2017.

Others in MMA celebrating a birthday during the month of February:

FEB. 1

Bill Mahood (50)
Igor Pokrajac (38)
Ronda Rousey (30)
Jared Papazian (29)

FEB. 2

Hector Lombard (39)
Denis Stojnic (37)
Eric Shelton (26)

FEB. 3

Rodrigo Damm (37)
Ricardo Tirloni (34)
Phillipe Nover (33)
Eduardo Dantas (28)

FEB. 4

Andrei Arlovski (38)
Satoru Kitaoka (37)
Yaotzin Meza (36)

FEB. 5

Antoni Hardonk (41)
Lyle Beerbohm (38)
Johnny Cisneros (37)
Leonardo Santos (37)
Bubba Jenkins (29)
Joaquim Silva (28)

FEB. 6

Waachiim Spiritwolf (41)
Vik Grujic (40)
Shinichi Kojima (38)
Mamoru Nakamura (36)
Andrew Holbrook (31)
Ryan Hollis (28)
Khalil Rountree (27)

FEB. 7

Haruo Ochi (33)
Derrick Lewis (32)
T.J. Dillashaw (31)
Lance Palmer (29)
Cesar Avila (28)
Jae Hyun So (28)

FEB. 8

Kevin Ferguson (1974-2016)
Yuki Ishikawa (50)
Chan Rothana (31)
Pawel Pawlak (28)

FEB. 9

Chris Clements (41)
Mark Munoz (39)
Charlie Brenneman (36)
Jake Rosholt (35)
Jake Hecht (33)
Henry Cejudo (30)
Felipe Arantes (29)

FEB. 10

Matt Horwich (39)
Nick Ring (38)
Mariusz Radziszewski (33)

FEB. 11

Evan Tanner (1971-2008)
Ken Shamrock (53)
Ali Mokdad (34)
Stephen Thompson (34)
Vagab Vagabov (31)
Andrea Lee (28)
Bec Rawlings (28)
Megan Anderson (27)

FEB. 12

Jon Madsen (37)
Tony Ferguson (33)
Joey Miolla (32)

FEB. 13

Elvis Sinosic (46)
Anthony Lapsley (37)
Ewerton Teixeira (35)
Daniel Hooker (27)

FEB. 14

Kenny Robertson (33)
Micah Miller (30)
Chris Mierzwiak (29)
Jayson Jones (28)

FEB. 15

Brian Rogers (33)
Cezar Ferreira (32)
Steven Siler (30)
Ciro Rodrigues (28)
Emiliano Sordi (26)

FEB. 16

Carina Damm (38)
Zelg Galesic (38)
Mark Eddiva (31)
Vladimir Mineev (27)
Mirsad Bektic (26)

FEB. 17

Brett Rogers (36)
Will Ribeiro (34)
Anatoly Tokov (27)

FEB. 18

Jimi Manuwa (37)
Marvin Blumer (35)
Melvin Blumer (35)
Joseph Duffy (29)
Fabiano Silva da Conceicao (29)
Stefan Struve (29)
Curtis Blaydes (26)

FEB. 19

Chad Leonhardt (37)
Liz Carmouche (33)
Nam Jin Jo (26)

FEB. 20

Antonio Inoki (74)
Rousimar Palhares (37)
Tim Means (33)
Derek Anderson (27)
Damian Stasiak (27)

FEB. 21

Chris Kelades (36)
Paul Daley (34)
Alex Oliveira (29)
Roman Salazar (29)
Brian Ortega (26)

FEB. 22

Gregor Herb (39)
Edgar Garcia (33)
Colby Covington (29)
Kuat Khamitov (29)

FEB. 23

Ruan Potts (39)
Gina Begley (36)
James Vick (30)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier (28)
Mike Hofer (27)

FEB. 24

Jon Fitch (39)
Fernando Bruno (35)
Jan Blachowicz (34)

FEB. 25

Kelly Kobald (34)
Ron Stallings (34)
Rachael Ostovich (26)

FEB. 26

T.J. Grant (33)
Jeff Lentz (28)
Reant Febriza Rainir (28)

FEB. 27

Michael Knaap (33)
Antonio Castillo Jr. (30)
Misha Cirkunov (30)
Thibault Gouti (30)
Sean Strickland (25)

FEB. 28

Jorge Rivera (45)
Michael Bisping (38)
Glaico Franca (26)

FEB. 29

Jim Yorke (41)
Francimar Barroso (37)
Patrick Cote (37)