UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2 post-fight results and analysis

Michael Bisping is the UFC middleweight champion. Repeat that to yourself because it is not fantasy any longer, it is 100% reality. Not 80%, or 8 out of 12 times, it’s 100% real. Bisping had lost to Tim Kennedy and Luke Rockhold in 2014, was just about KO’d by Anderson Silva a few months ago, and here he is tonight having just knocked out Rockhold in a short-notice rematch to win the title. WHAT a storybook finish. The man who has been frequently the subject of brutal losses on his way towards the top ended up making it to the pinnacle of the UFC middleweight division in 2016. He’s the first Englishman to win UFC gold, which is one of the many storylines out of tonight’s result. And he did that with the first clean KO (not TKO) of his UFC career. This is why we love this sport. I’ve written 1200+ words in this post and it’s a wonder I’m making any decent sense at all.

After all of the heartache and sense that it wouldn’t be his time, Bisping made one final run of it, and he got the chance to “knock that smug look” off of Rockhold’s face. And how. What a phenomenal win and a big upset. I don’t think many people who even picked Bisping saw Bisping getting a 1st round KO, but that’s what he managed.

More thoughts on tonight’s card, which was absolutely superb:

PPV main card

UFC champions in 2016: Robbie Lawler and Michael Bisping. Let that sink in. That’s a devastating loss for Rockhold. No two ways about it. He got straight up KO’d by a guy he guillotined not even 2 years ago after toying with him in the 2nd round. I would assume that he’ll be back and still at the top of the division, but this one has to sting. And if Cormier doesn’t watch out, AKA will have lost all of their UFC titles in a year. Dominick Cruz did his Dominick Cruz thing, which is to not get hit very often, use his footwork well, and frustrate the hell out of his opponent. Urijah Faber had nothing for Cruz after round 1, and Cruz nearly finished Faber in rounds 2 and 4. It’s very possible, based on the post-fight interview, that tonight was Faber’s final fight, and what a bitter pill to swallow in an otherwise fantastic career. Cruz just owned him, and he owns the 135 lbs division again. Whether he fights the Aldo vs. Edgar winner or the Aldo/Edgar vs. Conor McGregor winner, Max Holloway better get the next featherweight title shot. Another fine showing by the …

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