Michael Bisping Realizes a Dream, Puts His Past with Anderson Silva Behind Him

Michael Bisping overcame a tough fight with Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 84 on Saturday to come out the victor, despite nearly being finished in the third round. But perhaps more than just winning a fight, Bisping realized a dream.

“There were things that were said, but I have the utmost respect for Anderson Silva. This is the greatest fighter of all time,” Bisping said at the post-fight press conference. “For me, this is the stuff childhood dreams is made of. Fighting in the nation’s capital at the O2 Arena, sold out, against Anderson Silva. It doesn’t get any better than that. It was a war. And I won.”

The things that were said refers to Bisping calling Silva a cheater for having tested positive for steroids in relation to his UFC 183 bout with Nick Diaz in January of 2015. Silva sat on the sidelines for the past year, serving a Nevada Athletic Commission mandated suspension for his infractions.

“My thoughts are my thoughts and what I said, I stand by. But that’s done now. Plus, I won the fight, so it’s easier to take the high road.”

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Taking the high road almost became more difficult when Silva blasted Bisping with a flying knee at the end of the third round. Bisping went crashing to the canvas, but Silva turned his back and walked away as time ran out, thinking the fight would be stopped. It wasn’t, however, and Bisping had a minute between rounds to recover… and he did.

That led to him finishing out the five rounds and snatching the victory from the jaws of defeat when the judges saw the fight in his favor. And he’s okay with that.

“I thought I won the majority of the rounds. Of course, he had a big moment in round three. I dropped my mouth piece. There was no action and I was trying to (get the referee’s attention to put it back in). That’s my fault. I’m too experienced to make those kinds of mistakes,” Bisping explained. “Anderson capitalized. Well done to the guy for that. You don’t like to be covered in stitches, but I got the win.”

After the fight was over, Bisping and Silva put their bloody battle behind them and knelt down before each other in respect. For Bisping, the realization of a dream made that possible.

“I’ve wanted to fight him for so long. I really have. This is the guy that was the poster boy of the UFC for a while. I used to stay up until five o’clock in the morning every time he fought just to watch this guy, and I always wanted to fight him,” he recounted.

“For me, this was a personal challenge; it really was. This was by far the biggest win of my career.”

What’s next? Bisping doesn’t know. For now, he will bask in his moment of glory.