← Bussin' With The Boys
Bussin' With The Boys
Best of the Bus: Michael Bisping On How Prison Changed Him + Winning The UFC Belt
00:32:15
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- [00:00]
Michael Bisping
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
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- [00:33]
Grainger Advertiser
This is the story of the 1. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Grainger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Grainger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [01:06]
Maggie Freeling
The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [01:19]
Michael Bisping
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns.
- [01:31]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [01:45]
Michael Bisping
Always.
- [01:46]
Podcast Advertiser
You know what I mean?
- [01:46]
Michael Bisping
Well spoken individual UFC doing power. So well spoken.
- [01:50]
Interviewer 1
Yeah, you have a good show on YouTube. There's a slouch, bro.
- [01:54]
Michael Bisping
I do, I, I keep myself busy.
- [01:55]
Interviewer 1
Yeah, you've done a great job transitioning from fight from.
- [01:58]
Michael Bisping
Well, thank you very much. Yeah, I mean, as, as a former fighter or like all athletes, I mean, you guys did very well, but fighters in particularly, it's a hard road, you know what I mean? And then not a lot of fighters make money. You know, there's only the tip of the iceberg. And I'm not talking about in the ufc. I mean to get to the ufc, I mean that in itself is very hard, you know, but to really be able to retire comfortably, you know, only the, only a select few get to do that, you know, in, in, in any professional sports. I mean, if you look at soccer, right, how many people play soc, you know, and how many people get to actually really make a living? So yeah, retiring as a, as a fighter, still being involved with the sport, commentating the ufc, it couldn't have worked out any better. And I'm a very happy man.
- [02:42]
Interviewer 1
Do you feel like you retired comfortably?
- [02:44]
Michael Bisping
Oh, yeah, no, for sure. At the time, yeah. Yeah, no, I had a great career, you know, I mean, I was able to win the belt, defend it, have some championship fights. You know, I. I was repping the UK for a long time as well, so I had a great career. I had a long run. Yeah, yeah, very comfortably. I mean, you can always be more comfortable. Question. Yeah, you know what I'm saying?
- [03:04]
Interviewer 2
That goalpost over and over again.
- [03:05]
Michael Bisping
Yeah. Dana always looked after me and I always did very well. Did you.
- [03:10]
Interviewer 1
Were you doing any of the media stuff while you were fighting or was that a transition you made right when you got done?
- [03:15]
Michael Bisping
No, so I was doing it whilst I was fighting as well. Is this sound okay for you guys? Close enough. Yeah. So. So you probably know, or maybe you don't. So I don't see my right eye.
- [03:25]
Interviewer 1
We've heard the war stories.
- [03:27]
Michael Bisping
So. So when. Well, I started having the eye issues because obviously you want to be a champion and all the rest of it. When I started having the eye issues and I was told I was never going to be able to fight again, and I did carry on fighting and I was lying and cheating on tests and all the rest of it, doing whatever I could. Right. But I was like, this isn't going to last forever. I've got to figure out. I can. I know my door is closing. The options are going to go away soon. So I started doing as much of that stuff as I could working on Fox Sports at the time and then started a podcast and then just whatever else I could do whilst I still had a platform and whilst people still gave a damn, you know what I'm saying? Because when you retire, you're old news.
- [04:04]
Interviewer 2
If it wasn't. If it wasn't for the eye, do you think you would have had the idea to kind of. Okay, I need to find out some different avenues because as us, as athletes, like, for me, there was never a plan B. You kind of just think, I'm gonna play football and then I'll die on the field. Greatest honor to go out that way.
- [04:18]
Michael Bisping
No, for sure. And. And that's always the goal. That's what you want to do. You got to be single minded to be successful and to be great at anything, you've got to be like that. But of course, you'd be a fool not to realize there's a life after fighting. You know, I mean, I think it was 2009, I started doing a little bit of acting and Stuff like that. Never thought I'd end up doing that, but I just got offered an acting role out the blue, so I was like, yeah, fuck it, why not? Let's give it a shot. Next thing I'm in Austin, Texas. Spent my per day for the entire shoot on the first night with my buddy. We had a great night out. Turned up on set, hung over to the mics, thinking, what am I doing here? But then ended up loving the entire process and done that stuff ever since as well. So, yeah, I mean, I always kind of had, pardon the. Upon one eye on doing other stuff.
- [05:02]
Interviewer 2
Nice.
- [05:02]
Interviewer 1
Tell us about the legacy. We were. A little birdie told us that you had a DJ career. DJ Mikey. DJ Mikey.
- [05:10]
Michael Bisping
It's nothing to write home about. So, yeah, I mean, listen, I was obsessed with martial arts as a kid, and then one day I was walking home from work when I was 16, and my buddy had a set of decks. I went into his house and, you know, they were smoking weed and stuff. I was never a weed smoker, but I saw the decks and the turntables and I just thought that was the coolest thing ever at 16. So I stopped doing martial arts and became DJ Mikey B. I put all my effort into that and I had a little bit of a, you know, following or whatever. I did okay for a while, but. But, you know, nothing. Nothing to write home about. You know, I still spin the turntables a bit for fun when I'm bored. I might do the occasional set here and there, but those. I've hung up the records a long time ago.
- [05:53]
Interviewer 1
You stopped MMA so that you were doing the DJ stuff and then was like, okay, let me get back into the fight.
- [05:58]
Michael Bisping
Yeah, yeah. Well, I wasn't doing mma. I was doing martial arts. You know, a lot of martial art tournaments and stu. But so, yeah, I put all my efforts into being a dj, and then I met my girlfriend, who's now my wife, and we had two children. And then I was like, yeah, I don't think this is happening. Do you know what I mean? Like, there were some pretty rundown venues in the northwest of England. You know what I mean? We're not exactly talking excess at the win. This is not what we're talking about here, guys. That was the goal back then.
- [06:27]
Interviewer 2
Get to Vegas.
- [06:28]
Michael Bisping
I don't even know about that. Get to Ibiza, you know, Ibiza as you guys. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no. And then when the kids came along, I was like, what am I doing with myself? And I was always getting into scraps, you know, on fights. When I was a kid, I was, I was that kind of guy. And then I actually went to prison. I got sent down for 28 days. And it was when I was sitting in the holding cell waiting to be assigned my cell. I was sitting there, I was thinking, what is going on? What is, how have I ended up here? And I'm sitting in this holding cell and there's all drug addicts and dead beats around me and they' coming up, yeah, what you in for me? You know, And I'm like, don't talk to me. Stay away from, I'm not one of you. And I thought to myself, I've got to make a change. And right then and there, that's when I kind of got my act together. And I'm actually grateful for that judge, for doing that, because I was just reckless and didn't really give a damn.
- [07:21]
Interviewer 2
How do we get in there?
- [07:22]
Podcast Advertiser
How do we get there?
- [07:23]
Michael Bisping
Just, just, just. I was fighting.
- [07:25]
Interviewer 2
Yeah.
- [07:25]
Interviewer 1
How old were you?
- [07:26]
Michael Bisping
What was I, 22, 23, something like that. I was always getting in fights. I'm from a small town. Everyone knows everyone' I, I, ever since I was a kid, I always, you know, I was just that kind of kid. I was always down for a fight and I was young and I was reckless and I thought it was all fun and games, you know what I mean? You know, I was very immature, let's be honest, you know, so it really.
- [07:49]
Interviewer 2
Was a wake up call. Like, it is what the prison system was supposed to be. It's like, oh, I need to snap out of it.
- [07:53]
Michael Bisping
It worked on me. 100 yeah. 100. Yeah. So I came out of there and never threw another punch on the street, just decided to start doing it professionally. But I didn't find my way into mixed martial arts then because MMA wasn't really a thing. The UFC existed, but I wasn't a fan. But then my old, to use an old term, sensei told me all about the explosion of something called mixed martial arts and the UFC and in Japan, they had pride. And I didn't even know what it was. I said, can you make money? And he said, listen, the champions are making great money. The celebrities in America, they got getting into acting and all this kind of stuff. So he said this whole, he painted this whole picture and I thought, that's what I want. So I signed up for my first fight three months later, later, didn't even know what the sport was. Got the knockout. Two years later, I was on the Ultimate Fire. Won that next minute. Here we are talking, bossing in with, busting with the boys.
- [08:50]
Interviewer 1
Was that. Was that your. Was that the big break was getting on the Ultimate Fighter?
- [08:54]
Michael Bisping
Oh, for sure, of course. You know, fighting on the regional scene, if you will. That's what they call it in the uk. I mean, I was the Cage warriors champion. I was a cage race champion. I was the. What was it, any promotion that was in the uk, I was the champion of, as well as the super Heavyweight kickboxing champion. I used to be a bit of a fat bastard. So, yeah, I mean, so then they came to the UK looking for two guys to be on the ultimate fight to Season three. And then we had these open auditions, and at the auditions, all the other people in my weight class, I'd knocked them all out, you know what I mean? So I was kind of confident that I was gonna get it. And then, of course, I'm a loudmouth piece of shit as well, so if you want a bit of drama, so. So, yeah, yeah, there you go.
- [09:36]
Interviewer 2
How was the Ultimate Fighter structure then? Was everybody in the same house still? Was it kind of like a reality TV show to go with it as well?
- [09:41]
Michael Bisping
Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, absolutely. And I loved it. I mean, come on. Listen, I've never been to America. They're going to fly me to America. I'm sitting in a big, beautiful mansion with a bunch of guys, we're getting paid to train and work out, and you walk in, I'm being coached by Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock and Dana White's there. I'm like, shit, this is it. This is really happening. And a lot of people on the show, they were there for the 15 minutes of fame, you know, But I was. I was there to kick some ass and win.
- [10:06]
Interviewer 2
Yeah.
- [10:07]
Michael Bisping
You know, and fortunately, with a bit of luck, that's what I was able to do.
- [10:10]
Interviewer 2
So when you go to. When you go to the Ultimate Fighter and you get that bid to go to the ufc. You said earlier you weren't really a fan of ufc. When did you become like, this is.
- [10:17]
Michael Bisping
Yeah, this organization is really.
- [10:19]
Interviewer 1
They put money in his pocket.
- [10:21]
Michael Bisping
Yeah, UFC is not bad, actually. Yeah, yeah. It wasn't that spot. I just didn't even really know it existed. I remember I was at World Championships in 1995 when I was 16, and we were staying in a Utah hostel in Auckland. And I remember in the kitchen in the youth hostel, they were all watching. I think it was like UFC 2 or 3 or something. And I wasn't really interested. Not because I wasn't a fan. I Was just, you know, I was a kid and whatever, and I was too busy going out with my friends and partying and stuff. But as soon as I knew there was a viable career option and I knew I was getting older and I'd been in trouble with the law, and I left school at 16, I was like, this is probably the only way I'm going to make something of my life. You know, because I always say it's like, you know, getting on your. Your lecturer's high horse. But everyone's good at something. Everyone's got a skill. And I remember. I remember my supervisor at the time at work, I was working at this sulfur factory, just like making couches and stuff. And he said, what are you going to do for the rest of your life, Michael? He said, do you want to do this? I said, no way. And he said, well, you know, you think about it, because I walked into this factory 30 years ago and it flown by like that. He said, you're still a young man. So I started thinking. I said, what am I good at? What am I good at? And I've always been good at fighting. I was always good at martial arts. I was always in street fights. I'm ashamed to say it now, but I was, you know, I was. I was. I was very successful, let's just put it like that, without sounding like a prick. So I said to him, I never forget. I walked up to him one day, I said, mick, Mick. I said, I figured out what I'm gonna do. And he takes his. He's got his tool belt on. He takes his tool belt off, and he walks over rubbing his hand. Come on. Because he was kind of like a mentor. And he's like, okay, what's the plan? I said, I'm gonna be a professional fighter. And he was like, oh, my God. I thought you were a smart kid. I'm like, no, no, no, trust me. I know what I'm doing. So anyway, did you ever make the.
- [12:16]
Interviewer 1
Call back to him?
- [12:17]
Michael Bisping
Like, hey, I. Funnily enough, I was googling him last week because I was talking about this to my wife about Mick Killeen. But no, no, I. I don't. I don't know what happened to him. I hope he's alive. I hope you're well. Like, you know, I don't think I impact on him as he had on me. Yeah, it's funny.
- [12:36]
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- [13:38]
Grainger Advertiser
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- [14:10]
Michael Bisping
All I know is what I've been told and that's a half truth is a whole lie.
- [14:15]
Maggie Freeling
For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [14:31]
Michael Bisping
I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.
- [14:34]
Maggie Freeling
We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.
- [14:43]
Michael Bisping
Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.
- [14:50]
Maggie Freeling
My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.
- [15:00]
Michael Bisping
I did not know her and I did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said. They literally made me say that I.
- [15:07]
Maggie Freeling
Took a match and struck and threw it on her.
- [15:09]
Michael Bisping
They made me say that I poured gas on her.
- [15:13]
Maggie Freeling
From lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.
- [15:23]
Michael Bisping
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.
- [15:33]
Maggie Freeling
Listen To Graves county in the Bone Valley. Feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [15:53]
Michael Bisping
Isn't it, you know that these people come into your lives that can make a big impression and they might not realize it, you know, like a. A teacher to a troubled high school kid or whatever, you know? Right. Yeah. Yeah, There you go.
- [16:03]
Interviewer 1
You've had a lot of incredible fights. Like, what loss pisses you off the most?
- [16:09]
Michael Bisping
Oh, what loss? None of them. To be honest. None of them pissed me off. I mean, I'm 44 now, so. And I've been retired since 2018, so, you know, I don't spend. I don't keep myself up at night stewing over them. But what pissed me off?
- [16:23]
Interviewer 1
Which one had the most residual effect?
- [16:24]
Interviewer 2
Because there's been. Yeah. Times past.
- [16:26]
Interviewer 1
Yeah.
- [16:27]
Michael Bisping
Like I don't. Again, good question. I mean, the Vandele Silver fight was. I won that fight. I was robbed.
- [16:35]
Interviewer 2
Hell yes.
- [16:36]
Michael Bisping
Yeah, I love that.
- [16:38]
Interviewer 2
Nothing really makes me mad.
- [16:39]
Michael Bisping
But digging deep into the archives. You know Vandelay. No, no. Yeah. So that one, I guess because Vandelay is a legend of the sport and he was actually one of the guys that when I started discovering what MMA was, I saw Vandelay fight. I was like, oh, my God, this guy's amazing. Look at this guy. And I wanted to be like him. And then so for fight to fight him was a big deal, you know, And I thought I won the fight, but whatever. It didn't go my way.
- [17:09]
Interviewer 1
Yeah, he had all the training videos where he's like training snorkel and. Right. Like.
- [17:13]
Michael Bisping
Yeah, he did a lot of. He did a lot of steroids as well. They're the ones. You know what I mean? The veto. Belfor1. Obviously I lost an eyeball through that because he's a cheating piece of. You know, so I guess there's a few. Sonic can go himself. He was on every performance enhancing drug under the sun. I love Chael.
- [17:37]
Interviewer 2
He's cool.
- [17:38]
Michael Bisping
Yeah, because he.
- [17:40]
Interviewer 1
He's mouthy too. Like the dad. I'm sure that one was like, I wish I could have.
- [17:43]
Michael Bisping
It did. Because we were both fighting on the same card, but we had different opponents. And then for whatever reason, it's a long story. Somebody dropped out, so they rejiggled the card and I was fighting jail. And this was like 10 days before the fight, so we didn't really have time to. For anything to manifest or to brew, you know, there was no bad feelings, couldn't, you know, arise. It was like, before we knew it, we were in Chicago. We're stepping on the scale.
- [18:09]
Interviewer 1
Gotcha.
- [18:09]
Michael Bisping
I remember I squared up to Chael on the. The. The Waynes.
- [18:14]
Podcast Advertiser
Yeah.
- [18:15]
Michael Bisping
And you know, you try and do your bit, like, get in his face and like, yeah, dead and all that type of stuff.
- [18:21]
Interviewer 2
The accent with that. It was so hard. I'm dead.
- [18:25]
Michael Bisping
I'm in there and I'm like. Because I always used to give. Not. Not give him a head bob, but just like a little, you know, his little touch.
- [18:31]
Podcast Advertiser
Yeah.
- [18:31]
Michael Bisping
You know, because you're trying to insert your last minute dominance, you know? And Chael just said, what cologne are you wearing? You smell delightful. Big time. I was like, son of a bitch.
- [18:44]
Interviewer 2
You talk about these dudes taking pd, steroids, stuff like that. Was it easy when you got your hands on guys to feel like, okay, you got something going on extra.
- [18:52]
Michael Bisping
Do you know what? To be honest, there's only one fight that I ever felt overpowered in, even though I. I know for a fact I fought a lot of guys that were using because for a while there was testosterone replacement therapy, which was legal. They were allowed to do that. Yeah. If you went to a doctor and the doctor signed off on it, there you go, boom, you were in. And I've never taken anything in my life, but even still, there was, I guess Vito was like, ridiculously powerful and explosive with his striking. But when we clinched up or anything, there's only one guy that I thought who's called Matt Hamill, that was a death fighter that warped my ass in round one. And. And I was like a little schoolboy with him. But he wasn't on steroids or anything like that. He was just a good old fashioned farm boy, you know what I mean? Give me a good old ass kicking, God bless him.
- [19:38]
Interviewer 1
Was it just the testosterone like the TRT that was like the issue? Like, what, What? But how was everybody. How were people able to access it so much?
- [19:45]
Michael Bisping
I have no idea. I have not. I'm not an expert on that stuff, but it was rife. I know it was. Everyone, you know, everyone's aware of that because the drug testing back then was kind of like an IQ test, you know. Now we have. Well, we had Usada. We have another program now where they show up randomly, they test you, and, you know, it's very in depth and very safe. Back then it was. And not all fights, the main event, maybe the co. Main. You had to take a piss test after the fight, right? You know, so if you're smart enough, you know how to cycle it and get it out of your system. But I was always so young and confident. I was like, I don't give a. I don't care. Whatever. I'm gonna get him anyway.
- [20:21]
Interviewer 1
Never thought about it.
- [20:22]
Michael Bisping
What about taking anything, right?
- [20:23]
Interviewer 1
Like trying to figure out what age I can get?
- [20:25]
Michael Bisping
No, never. I remember when I was coming up in the uk, you know, it was the. The UK scene back then was like the wild west. Trust me, like, you know, anyone involved in mixed martial arts back then, they were all gangsters and drug dealers and thugs and whatnot. You know, it wasn't the professional scene. It is now. Let me. And there was a lot of people all taking steroids on my team and stuff like that. But in my mind, I was always like, well, number one, I don't want to do that. I don't need to do that. But I'm going to the ufc. I'm not here to be a tough guy in my hometown. I'm going to the ufc and I don't want to test positive and get banned. You know what I mean? So. And of course, ethically. Ethically, of course, you know, that's a.
- [21:03]
Interviewer 2
Tough deal with the ethically part. When everybody's doing it, it's got to be hard. Like thinking about baseball in the 90s and how do you keep it secret too? Like, you know, dudes are taking it. Everyone's like this guy, like that its.
- [21:14]
Interviewer 1
Own showing there where you realize like literally every cyclist was on something. Like he was just the guy who was like, you know, yeah, running a.
- [21:22]
Podcast Advertiser
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- [22:23]
Grainger Advertiser
Is the story of the one as a custodial supervisor at a high school, he knows that during cold and flu season, germs spread fast. It's why he partners with Grain to stay fully stocked on the products and supplies he needs, from tissues to disinfectants to floor scrubbers, all so that he can help students, staff and teachers stay healthy and focused. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [22:56]
Michael Bisping
All I know is what I've been told and that to have truth is a whole lie.
- [23:01]
Maggie Freeling
For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [23:17]
Michael Bisping
I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.
- [23:19]
Maggie Freeling
We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.
- [23:28]
Michael Bisping
Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.
- [23:35]
Maggie Freeling
My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.
- [23:45]
Michael Bisping
I did not know her and I did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said. They literally made me say that I.
- [23:52]
Maggie Freeling
Took a match and struck and threw it on her.
- [23:54]
Michael Bisping
They made me say that I poured gas on her.
- [23:59]
Maggie Freeling
From Lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.
- [24:09]
Michael Bisping
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.
- [24:18]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [24:39]
Michael Bisping
When you're undefeated and this is the thing that you'll see like Aaliyah Toporius fighting next week on UFC 298 and he is brimming with confidence. He's talking about knocking Volkanovsky out in one round and how it's not even going to be a fight because that, that's how you are when you're undefeated. Like I was smoking everybody, you know, I was knocking everyone out in the first round and you know, I didn't really have a fight and I was like, yeah you know, because when you're undefeated, you literally feel like no one on earth can beat you, and it's just what it does to you. And every time you compete and you win, that is that. That. That mindset is further solidified. So I was like, well, help me. Knock yourself out. Give it your best shot, you know, until you start getting knocked out yourself and you start losing eyes and dribbling, you know what I mean? Stuttering and stumbling. Your words, you're like, y.
- [25:23]
Interviewer 1
Does it change your game? Like, when you first got. Who was the. Who was the first one to do you.
- [25:27]
Michael Bisping
Was it Henderson, UFC 100? So we coached the Ultimate Fighter. Passion. Yeah, Passion in that. No, no, listen. Fair Play was on testosterone replacement therapy. That's noted. And in the books. It's true.
- [25:41]
Interviewer 1
I love it.
- [25:42]
Michael Bisping
I know it's true. Yeah. No, no, God bless him, he got me good. Because we coached the Ultimate Fighter. I talked a ton of. Because Dan Henderson's literally like, watching paint dry. So somebody had to make that show exciting and interesting to watch. Andy's bit of a prick, so that made it easy. So I talked a bit of, as I do, and it was skewed from the whole UK vs USA thing in 1776. And he was the good old fashioned, hard working, quiet American boy that's going to come in and me up. And that's exactly what he was. That's what he did. My God, it was the. It was the biggest show the UFC had ever done, and I got knocked out in the most spectacular fashion. And then he flies through the air as I'm already unconscious and gives me another one. But good times, good times. You know what I mean? You learn lessons. It is what it is.
- [26:31]
Interviewer 1
What was it like winning the belt? The adrenaline when you're finally like, yeah.
- [26:37]
Michael Bisping
I mean, obviously an incredible experience. When I won the belt, after I knock him out, I jump on top of the cage and I turn around and I point, I say, you. But that wasn't really at all Lou Rockhold. That was everyone that wrote me off, everyone that talked, everyone that wrote articles in the media, everyone online that said he could never do it. He's a good fighter, but he's not a great fighter. He's not championship material. And they always said that all along. And every time I got a win, they always said it was a fluke or whatever, you know, they didn't know how hard I was working. So that's. That was that pure emotion coming out there. And it wasn't directed at Luke, poor guy. It was Directed at all the naysayers, of which there was many. Right.
- [27:20]
Interviewer 2
So it makes a great competitor is.
- [27:22]
Podcast Advertiser
Yeah.
- [27:22]
Interviewer 2
All those little chirps trying to prove someone taking everything personal one way or another.
- [27:26]
Michael Bisping
Yeah. Oh, they said this.
- [27:29]
Interviewer 2
And me think it's the worst thing ever.
- [27:31]
Michael Bisping
Very emotionally immature. Yeah.
- [27:33]
Interviewer 2
When you're finally, like getting out of the fighting ring and going into the media, like, was there ever a process for you where you've been a fighter your whole life, whether it's been professionally or non professionally, and now you're going into something completely different? Like, was there a piece of your identity that you're like, ah, I feel like I'm losing something of myself.
- [27:49]
Podcast Advertiser
Yourself?
- [27:49]
Michael Bisping
No, not really. Because honestly, I feel like that fighter version of myself. I, I guess if I, you know, he's still in there somewhere. But I'm a different guy these days completely. You know, I mean, I was, you know, it was definitely a personality flaw. When I was younger, I was always getting into fights and that kind of became my. My identity, my badge of honor. That's who I was. And when I was younger, that's kind of like how I ended up getting friends and being popular and hanging out with the cool guys and stuff. Stuffed. So that only further reinforced it being this bad boy image, if you will. And then when I got to the ufc, you know, I guess again, it's. It's making me money, it's making me famous or whatever. But now I've matured, I've grown up, and I'm certainly not fighting anymore. And that kind of version of me is. Doesn't really exist anymore. And I don't find myself being combative at all. You know, I still work out, I still train every day. Like, for example, there's been two occasions recently where I have been assaulted in the streets and done nothing about it. Full on punched in the face. And I could, I could have made mince. Peter. These two, trust me, I was in New Orleans. I was in New Orleans.
- [28:58]
Interviewer 2
That's where they get you.
- [28:59]
Michael Bisping
I was in New Orleans and I'm walking down Bourbon Street. I'd never been there before. Don't want to go back. Bourbon street is a hole. No offense. Sucks. I got assaulted. Do you know what I mean? And then I'm with my wife and there's a bunch of, yeah, young guys, like, playing on there upside down buckets. Right. And playing drums and stuff. So I'm doing a little touristy thing. I'm filming little Instagram stories. Guy gets in my face, he's like, you can't film. I'm like, yeah I can. It's a, it's a public place. And I carry on filming. He says, yo, I ain't going to tell you again you can't film. I'm like, yes I can. And I carry on filming and he gets right in my face. I said, soak my dick. And he just goes, fair play to him. Fair play, fair play. You know what I mean? I suck my dick and he just went boom. And punched me. I was there with my wife and my youngest son. What was he, like 10 at the time or something? But the punch was so pathetic, it literally my reaction. I laughed my head off.
- [29:58]
Interviewer 2
That's the most disrespectful shit ever.
- [30:00]
Michael Bisping
This is not me trying to sound tough. It literally was like, ding.
- [30:04]
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- [31:05]
Michael Bisping
Is the story of the one as head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working. The H Vac is humbling and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces. Plus 24. 7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat. Call quitgranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. All I know is what I've been told and that to have truth is a whole lot.
- [31:44]
Maggie Freeling
For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and A handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [31:59]
Michael Bisping
I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.
- [32:02]
Maggie Freeling
We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.
- [32:11]
Michael Bisping
Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.
- [32:18]
Maggie Freeling
My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer, and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.
- [32:28]
Michael Bisping
I did not know her and I did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said. They literally made me say that I.
- [32:35]
Maggie Freeling
Took a match and struck and threw it on her.
- [32:37]
Michael Bisping
They made me say that I poured gas on her.
- [32:41]
Maggie Freeling
From Lava For Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.
- [32:52]
Michael Bisping
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.
- [33:01]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava For Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [33:21]
Michael Bisping
And I do. I said, what was that? I said, did you just punch me in the face? I said, is that. I said, you come up, you talk all that and you punch me in the face and that is what you have to offer. I said, come on. But I was laughing my head off. So we just walked away. What did he do?
- [33:36]
Interviewer 2
Cuz he had to swing the.
- [33:37]
Michael Bisping
And kind of get ready, so. So I have a YouTube channel. I'm a most watched video is because. Because I do a podcast as well. And this guy put a video out because he found out who I was afterwards. So I. I took his footage and used it, integrated it onto my video. It's my most watched video. But his version of events is exactly the same as mine. It's exactly the same. He didn't lie. Do you know what I mean? This is how he left. I told him to start filming and he wouldn't film. So he like told me to suck his dick. So I punched him in the face. I'm like, see you. And then recently I've never spoken about this before. I was back home and in Clithero, where I'm from. And I was at dinner with my mom, who's almost 80 years old. She can't walk, she's on crutches. And with my sister, she's got a newborn baby. It's a beautiful summer's night. There's about 12 of us, a very nice family atmosphere. It's like 5:30pm and I'm sitting there and these guys walk in. I say, guys, like 60 years old, old drunk bums walking hammered drunk. And one of them just walks over to me. He says, you don't remember me, do you? And like, whenever I go back, there's always old faces that I can't remember the names. Hello, good to see you. But I can't. I said, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, good to see you. He said, you don't remember, do you? I said, oh, well, I don't remember your name, but yeah, your face is familiar. He says, no, let me give you a reminder. And I've got a scar between my eyes where I got a big metal stool smashed in my head when I was about 17. And then 20 guys jumped on my head. He says, look at that. You know, that scar between your eyes, guys. I did that. I said, right? I said, I. I think you need to walk away. So he goes away and they sit down the other side of the restaurant. And it comes to the end of the night. I'm paying the bill and I'm standing by the front door. And then they walk past again and they start talking more. I said, what are you doing? I said, I'm here. I don't know who you are. I don't remember it. This was 1997, by the way. Do you know what I mean? We've all moved on with our lives.
- [35:35]
Interviewer 1
You think he'd at least know, like, what you became?
- [35:37]
Michael Bisping
Well, he did. Did. So that's what. He's doing it. So anyway, as I'm talking to one guy, the other guy sucker punches me and he has a ring on, explodes my nose. Do you know what I mean? And then as he hits me, he falls on the floor, right? And they're just hammered drunk. And I'm standing there and I'm just like, oh, God, I could you up so easily right now, but I just didn't do anything. Didn't do anything, right? Because I'm not doing that. I'm not lowering myself to that. I'm not coming back to my hometown where I used to always be getting in fight fights. And he says, oh, Michael Bispin's back. He's only been back two minutes. He's already getting into fights. Do you know what I mean? I'm not perpetuating that.
- [36:13]
Interviewer 2
Who knows who this guy is?
- [36:14]
Michael Bisping
Because, well, it's not just that. I'm not that guy anymore. That was the whole point of this. I'm not that guy anymore. You know when in your mind did.
- [36:21]
Interviewer 1
It shift that I'm not going to be that guy anymore? I'm not that good.
- [36:23]
Michael Bisping
No. When I was in prison, but still, when I was fighting, I was younger.
- [36:27]
Interviewer 1
Yeah.
- [36:28]
Michael Bisping
But when I retired, because I see myself back on old. Like, old promos and stuff, and I'm like, oh, God, he's that guy. Who's that guy? Do you know what I mean? I'm like, jesus Christ.
- [36:40]
Interviewer 2
So how did your mom react to that?
- [36:44]
Michael Bisping
Well, they couldn't believe it. I walked in and my nose was all bloody, and they were like, what has just happened? You were only paying the bill. Drama follows you everywhere. Yeah, yeah. No, my mom's. She. She's seen it before. Yeah, she's seen it before.
- [36:59]
Interviewer 1
When you. When you retired, was there a thought of you there? Was there a part you. It's like, I want to retire, but I want to go out with a win. I want to go out on top. Not on top, but I want to go out with a win.
- [37:09]
Michael Bisping
Absolutely. Of course. Yeah. Because I was going to fight again as well against Rashad Evans. We were going to have a rematch, but for one reason or another, it never happened. And then an old friend of mine said to me as well. He said. He said, michael, what are you doing? And I said, well. And then my manager already as well. There was a few people. I said, well, I want to go back to London. London. I want to fight the O2 arena one last time, and I want to thank the audience and I want to have that moment where you take your gloves off and you put it down and you thank the crowd and thank you for all the support over the years and all the rest of it. And it was already actually, my manager, he's like, yeah, but you're romancing that in your head, you know? He said, you've got one eye. Do you want to go blind? You want to risk going blind? Because the fight before that, when I fought Galvin Gastelum, because every time. Because I used to cheat the che. The tests, okay, they're not that hard to cheat if. If you're a little scallywag, like I was growing up, they're not that hard to cheat. Right? But the doctors used to always say, you know, you've been very, you know, risky still fighting, because if anything happens to you, a good eye, you know, you could go blind. I was like, yeah, it's fine. And I was like, well, lightning is not going to strike twice. That was my logic. Right. It's already happened in one eye Eye. The odds of that happening on the second eye is minimal. It's not going to happen. Well, when I got knocked out in China afterwards we went to a nightclub and we're sitting in there and my eyes kept going.
- [38:35]
Podcast Advertiser
Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder? With a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other, one for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. Before you know it, you are drowning in software. Instead of growing your business, this is where Odoo comes in. In Odoo is the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all in one fully integrated platform that handles everything CRM, accounting, inventory, e commerce, HR and more. No more app overload, no more juggling logins. Just one seamless system that makes work easier. And the best part? Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. It's built to grow with your business whether you are just starting out or already scaling up. Plus it's easy to use, customizable and designed to streamline every process so you can focus on what really matters running your business. Thousands of businesses have made the switch, so why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's o d o o.com this.
- [39:36]
Grainger Advertiser
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- [40:09]
Michael Bisping
All I know is what I've been told and that to have truth is a whole lot.
- [40:15]
Maggie Freeling
For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.
- [40:30]
Michael Bisping
I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.
- [40:33]
Maggie Freeling
We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.
- [40:42]
Michael Bisping
Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.
- [40:48]
Maggie Freeling
My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.
- [40:59]
Michael Bisping
I did not know her and I did not kill her or Rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said. They literally made me say that I.
- [41:06]
Maggie Freeling
Took a match and struck and threw it on her.
- [41:08]
Michael Bisping
They made me say that I poured gas on her. Are.
- [41:12]
Maggie Freeling
From Lava For Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.
- [41:23]
Michael Bisping
America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.
- [41:32]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava For Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [41:52]
Michael Bisping
She, like, flashing. Every time I look left, it would give a flash. And I thought, oh, my God. Because I remember the symptoms when I had the detached retina the first time. So that was why. Why, you know, I kind of wasn't going to fight again, but then I wanted that, that send off, you know what I mean? And he reminded me that I said, what are you doing? You want to go blind? He said, for what? Some. Some idea, some theory that you've got in your mind? This. This whole big romantic send off. He said, you're being stupid. I thought, you know what? You're absolutely right.
- [42:22]
Interviewer 1
Do you have any more?
- [42:23]
Interviewer 2
Yeah, I do. I mean, it's kind of a cheeky question. Kind of you just go and clip or whatever, but. But I seen how the UFC is today. If you're picking out fighters, if you were in your prime again, who are the guys that you would love to take a crack at?
- [42:35]
Michael Bisping
Fighters right now? Today? Yeah. Well, I used to train with him a lot. Sean Strickland would be easy work. Israel Adesanya. I'm joking, by the way. Sean Strickland. Israel Adesanya. Dricus Du Plessis. Who else is in the top five? Give me all of those. Do you know who I wouldn't want to go at?
- [42:53]
Podcast Advertiser
Who?
- [42:53]
Michael Bisping
Tom Aspinall. Fuck that.
- [42:55]
Interviewer 2
What is that?
- [42:56]
Michael Bisping
Have you seen the size of him? I know you're a big boy. I'm telling you, whoever wins that fight between Jones and Stipe, they should retire because they're going to get their ass whopped. Simple as that. And I love Jones and I love Stipe, and I've got so much respect. Look at what he did to Sergei Pavlovich. And I was saying this coming into this fight, and DC was like, what are you doing? What are you talking about? You know, he's like, you're kissing this guy's ass. I'M like, no, I'm basing this off what I see.
- [43:25]
Interviewer 1
Yeah.
- [43:25]
Michael Bisping
And he went out and he did it again, and I don't see anybody stopping him.
- [43:30]
Interviewer 1
With all these. With all these fight leagues coming about, do you think any other league has a shot to compete with the UFC at any point?
- [43:39]
Michael Bisping
Probably not. You know, there's always new iterations. There's always. People want to come up and do things differently and change the rules and tweet this and that, you know, I don't think so. I mean, it's the household name. You know, it's like, I don't know much about football. You got the NFL. What, the xfl, Right? Is that ever gonna come?
- [43:56]
Interviewer 1
He's really competing.
- [43:58]
Michael Bisping
I know.
- [43:58]
Interviewer 1
Like, you do. What is it called? The pfl.
- [44:00]
Michael Bisping
You got the pfl.
- [44:01]
Interviewer 2
Yeah. I mean, you have a CFL PFL.
- [44:06]
Michael Bisping
For the fight and everything, or the FC or the oops, you know. No, no, not.
- [44:12]
Interviewer 1
Because based on, like, the fighter pay and the. The. The.
- [44:16]
Michael Bisping
Well, no, what happens, from my knowledge, is that they. They try and poach away other UFC fighters by paying them exorbitant amounts of money that they're not necessarily wor. In the ufc, there's no better place. If you can become champion and you get pay per view points, that's where you're going to make the most money, you know, And I always get accused of being a company man. Well, I am a company man, and I'm proud to be, so. It changed my life, you know, it changed my life 100%. And you'll notice that the people making good money, the creme de la creme, the people at the top, they're not bitching, they're not complaining because the money's there, you know? I mean, look at Conor McGregor, for crying out loud. And granted, he's like, you know, he's kind of like a unicorn, if you will. But there's plenty of other people that are making very, very good livings.
- [45:00]
Interviewer 1
Who do you like? Chandler McGregor, probably.
- [45:03]
Michael Bisping
Chandler. Let's be honest, you know, McGregor's. He's been out. It'll be almost four years by then. He's made so much money, and the motivation probably isn't there, you know? And he likes to party.
- [45:14]
Interviewer 1
Yeah.
- [45:14]
Michael Bisping
And why not? God bless him. Hey, enjoy yourself. He's done it. He come in, he changed the game, won the belts, made the money.
- [45:24]
Interviewer 2
Well, we're boys with Mike. It's gonna be good to hear that.
- [45:26]
Michael Bisping
Yeah. No, no, of course you are. Yeah. No, I love Chandler as well. Listen, what else has McGregor got to prove the only. The only reason he still wants to fight is because you can have all the money in the world, but you can't buy a championship in the ufc. And, and as all fighters, we operate on ego and we want to say we're the best, we're the top. And it goes back to, as I was saying before about me always getting in fights. I wanted to be the baddest motherfucker around. I wanted to be the. To this guy. And it's the same. It's the same school yard stuff that we're all doing. But we're professional fighters. They want to be the toughest and the hardest and the baddest guy. And McGregor wants that, and he's trying to prove that he still is. You know, that's why you're coming back. And he wants respect from the fight community. And the only way you get that is by fighting. You can't buy that. So fair play to him for still trying. You know what I mean? But he doesn't need to.
- [46:18]
Interviewer 1
Yeah. Michael, man, thank you for coming on.
- [46:20]
Interviewer 2
This has been time. Your name in here. Energy was high.
- [46:23]
Interviewer 1
His career is after it.
- [46:25]
Interviewer 2
There's a reason why you're successful in media.
- [46:26]
Michael Bisping
I'm quite tired.
- [46:29]
Interviewer 2
As far as YouTube show everything. Where can we find your stuff?
- [46:31]
Michael Bisping
I don't really like to do that because it's just cringe. I've cut myself out. But you know, just check it out. Google it. Yeah, I'm not doing it Anytime, guys. You can find me on the, you know. Nah, I'm not doing it. Google it.
- [46:44]
Interviewer 1
You know, you know, you know, he's been in front of the camera like Michael's biz being show. Subscribe. Make sure you subscribe.
- [46:52]
Michael Bisping
The Believe you me podcast and just, just, just Google it. Yeah, yeah. Thanks for coming on.
- [46:58]
Interviewer 2
Appreciate you, brother.
- [46:58]
Michael Bisping
All right, guys, thank you very much.
- [47:12]
Grainger Advertiser
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- [47:45]
Maggie Freeling
The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story America, y' all.
- [47:59]
Michael Bisping
Better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns.
- [48:10]
Maggie Freeling
Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.
- [48:24]
Michael Bisping
I knew it was a bomb the second that it exploded. I felt it rip through me. In season two of Rip Current, we ask who tried to kill Judy Berry and why. They were climbing trees and they were sabotaging logging equipment in the woods.
- [48:40]
Interviewer 2
She received death threats before the bombing. You receive more threats after the bombing.
- [48:44]
Michael Bisping
I think that this is a deliberate attempt to sabotage our movement. Episodes of Rip Current Season 2 are available now. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.