Michael Bisping Explains Whey He Will Never Campaign to Get into the UFC Hall of Fame
Michael Bisping has put together a Hall of Fame career.
There’s little argument that the former UFC middleweight champion has done more than enough to be honored amongst the best fighters in the history of the promotion.
From his run on “The Ultimate Fighter” season 3 where he went onto win the reality show to a long winning streak in the light heavyweight division, Bisping never backed down from a challenge even when he was undersized at 205 pounds.
Once he moved down to middleweight, Bisping fought the who’s who of killers at 185 pounds throughout his career and he constantly asked the UFC to give him the next toughest challenge no matter who that might be.
Bisping defeated the longest reigning middleweight champion in history when he earned a decision victory over Anderson Silva in 2016. Then a few months later, Bisping knockd out Luke Rockhold to become middleweight champion in a fight that he accepted on less than two weeks notice.
Add to that, Bisping is currently tied for the most wins in UFC history, most fights in UFC history and he earned seven post fight bonuses during his career.
In other words, Bisping’s resume speaks for itself when it comes to Hall of Fame credentials but the recently retired 39-year old British fighter would never campaign to receive that honor. In fact, Bisping says it would be an embarrassment to his career accomplishments if he started asking the UFC to put him into the Hall of Fame.
“It’s not something I’ve necessarily thought about but it’s something a lot of people have said to me,” Bisping said about getting into the UFC Hall of Fame.
“It’s not something I’m campaigning for or anything like that. That’s not something you campaign for. That’s embarrassing. It’s up to the UFC to recognize that. I’d like to think so, I’ve put the work in and I think I deserve it but that’s down to the UFC.”
As it stands there are no exact rules for how a fighter gets into the UFC Hall of Fame. Each year, the UFC selects four inductees — one from the Pioneer wing, the Modern Era, contributors and a monumental fight — with the ceremony held during International Fight Week.
Bisping wasn’t selected in 2018 but that’s not to say he wouldn’t get in at some point in the future.
Given the long list of accolades decorating his career, Bisping certainly seems like just about the easiest choice the UFC could ever make for a Hall of Fame induction but he’s never going to be the one asking for it.
