On his road to the UFC middleweight championship, Michael Bisping would take on former champion Anderson Silva in his home country of England.
Silva, with his iconic hands-down approach, was met and tested early by the lead jab and combinations of Bisping. The former champion slipped and rolled with the combinations, but with the higher amount of activity between the pair, Bisping would find more success in the earlier rounds. Bisping would even drop Silva briefly in the second round.
The damage from Silva’s punches became more noticeable on the face of the British striker towards the later rounds. In the final moments of the fourth round, Bisping would lose his mouthpiece during a striking exchange with Silva. Bisping would attempt to communicate with referee Herb Dean about the mouthguard, leaving himself unguarded and unprotected. Silva proceeded to land a flying knee flush on the chin of Bisping.
Athlete Profiles: Michael Bisping | Anderson Silva
The round-ending horn would blare as Bisping fell to his knees. Silva walked away thinking he won the bout and would even celebrate on top of the cage. As Silva’s team informed the former champion that the bout would be heading into the fifth, Bisping was sitting on the stool in his corner doing his best to shake off the cobwebs.
A confused Silva climbed down the cage as the fifth round was about to start. Clearly dazed and still affected from the flying knee, a bloodied Bisping would continue to land combinations and leg kicks on the Brazilian throughout the fifth round, en route to scoring a victory by unanimous decision.
