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Michael Bisping knows a thing or two about triumphing over insurmountable odds to capture a UFC title. Perhaps the greatest moment of his career was when he knocked out Luke Rockhold on short-notice to become the UFC middleweight champion in one of the greatest MMA upsets of the modern era.
This is something that Sean O'Malley can relate to, as he just defeated Aljamain Sterling, who was a heavy favorite ahead of their bout, for the promotion's bantamweight title this past Saturday at UFC 292. In the aftermath of 'Sugar's' monumental win, Bisping took to his official YouTube channel to offer his thoughts.
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Sean O'Malley's star-potential was always there, from his unique brand of trash talk, colorful aesthetic and flashy knockouts. It is Michael Bisping's opinion that after capturing UFC gold, 'Sugar' has indeed become a star, but he also recognized the authentic man hiding under the flash and cockiness.
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He said as much (at 5:51 minutes) on his video:
"I was talking to him and his agent, and I said 'what are you gonna do? Are you gonna enjoy the town? Are you gonna go out for dinner, maybe have a few drinks? Enjoy your final weekend before you start your training camp? He's like 'no, I'm leaving tonight. I'm getting on a plane. I've got a daughter at home and I wanna spend as much time with her as I can before I go into training camp.'"
While Bisping knows what it's like to defeat a champion that everyone expected him to lose against, he can also relate to the desire to avenge a past loss in his first title defense. After capturing middleweight gold, Michael Bisping defeated Dan Henderson in a rematch to defend his title.
Sean O'Malley has made it clear that he intends to face Marlon Vera in a rematch in his first title defense, as he hopes to avenge his prior loss to him.
Is Michael Bisping the first English champion in UFC history?
The UFC has had countless champions throughout its history. But the majority of its champions were American and Brazilian fighters, with a few outliers from Canada in the form of Carlos Newton and the great Georges St-Pierre. But of what of England?
Tom Aspinall seems to be on track for heavyweight gold at some point. Meanwhile, Leon Edwards is now the promotion's welterweight champion. But before him, Michael Bisping made history as England's first-ever titleholder in the UFC.
