Boxing may have a number of British world champions at the moment, but the sport has found itself fighting for column inches with a comparatively new contender in the form of mixed martial arts.
The UFC has only been going since the 1990s, but its first and only British champ claims it has already overtaken boxing among fight fans on this side of the Atlantic.
Michael Bisping is due to defend his middleweight title this weekend in Manchester, taking on the man who stopped him in his tracks at UFC 100 – Californian veteran Dan Henderson.
And ‘The Count’ has told BT Sport he feels his ability to sell out the Manchester Arena in six minutes for UFC 204 is a sign that UFC is number one.
“I don’t think Tyson Fury sold out the MEN when his fight was announced, did he? I don’t think GGG and Kell Brook sold out the O2 when it was first announced either – I think eventually they got a sell-out but it didn’t sell out in six minutes,” Bisping said.
“I am a big boxing fan but I think it’s fair to say that we’ve kind of overtaken them a little bit now,”
“But as I say that brings pressure, it brings incredible pressure, and I’ve got to live up to that.”
Bisping became middleweight champion after upsetting the odds to defeat Luke Rockhold at just 17 days notice at UFC 199, and the bout against Henderson represents his first defence.
And at the age of 37, the Lancastrian knows how important a successful defence could prove to his legacy in the sport.
“It’s all well and good selling out an arena but then getting your backside kicked – nobody wants that. I don’t want that,” he added.
“None of that’s important. I’ve got to perform, it’s as simple as that, and not only for everyone who bought a ticket but for myself, my family, my legacy, my reputation as a fighter
“I don’t want to be one of these guys that wins a belt and then loses it on the first defence, I might as well not win it. For me that would make a mockery of ever winning the belt.”
