Michael Bisping - The Path of a Warrior

Who is Michael "The Count" Bisping? He is an inspirational man with a no-quit attitude. His biography, Quitters Never Win, released late last year and showcases his life in the bigger picture. His documentary on youtube, My Destiny gives you a pretty good idea of who he is if you don't like to read. After winning the Ultimate Fighter Season 3, his spot in the UFC was formed. During his UFC career he fought the best, going undefeated on UK soil. Oh, and another fun fact, he earned the UFC Middle Weight Championship Belt and has been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame... but... It's not over, it's just getting started. He is in movies like XXX with Vin Diesel. He doesn't like to brag, but he and Vin are sort of buddies, and has flown on Vin’s private jet. Even though any of us would be eager to walk in those shoes. But that's the thing.. it's not been handed to him, it's been a lot of long term focused and disciplined effort and with all of those accomplishments, there is still so much more.

He is truly an inspiration and an example of how to make something of yourself, but it's not all serious, hardly serious at all when you start to pay attention.... His extremely funny and witty podcast is riddled with banter and discusses current events, family stories, and Mixed Martial Arts, primarily UFC breakdowns with Comedian Luis J Gomez. It's called Believe you Me (proudly sponsored by SHEATH) and we highly recommend you give it a listen, especially if you are in to the non-pc type of humor. Snowflakes might be offended, as he is regularly apologizing for comments from a previous episode. Subscribe on Youtube and iTunes and tell your friends.

He is in a relatively new Netflix movie called "Triple Threat". We haven't seen that one but it looks interesting. If you are into game shows, he is also in a thrilling Car driver Game Show on Netflix called Hyper Drive.

So how is SHEATH involved with him? Will he be a future SHEATH Underwear Model? He has left this door open on modeling, we definitely talked about it as a possibility after he gets back in shape. As mentioned before, we sponsor his engaging and hilarious podcast on Youtube Believe you Me, where he did prove that he actually wears SHEATH underwear during one of the episodes, at the very least he is a spokesperson. What else can we say about Bisping? We can go on for a while... He is truly a man of legend. Michael "The Count" Bisping gave a lasting impression in the world of UFC and will continue to do so for some time to come as he continues to be an analyst, commentator, and spokesman for the UFC. You have to read the book to get all of the details, but having trained in martial arts from age 8, Bisping advanced to no holds barred contests by age 15. He had quit fighting to work in a factory at an early age, by 18 he would need to get a real job, but as the world turns and fighting began to gain a foothold on popular culture, he gave it everything and took another shot at his dreams. He made his official MMA debut at the age of 25 in 2004 at Pride & Glory 2: Battle of the Ages where he took a 0:38 submission victory over Steve Mathews. He then went on to contend at Cage Rage 7 where he won with a technical knockout over Mark Epstein and earned the title of Light Heavyweight Champion, (defended title in rematch, solidified as one of the best fighters out of England.) That's when he got his chance to be on The Ultimate Fighter Realty show and won!

From a virtual nobody to UFC hall of fame and commentating, there is no denying that he has seen his fair share of action. Michael Bisping came from the lowest level depths of English Society to now living large in a Half Mansion in Orange County California, with his Wife (Rebecca) and 3 kids! (Callum is in College, but Lucas and Ellie still live at home with them, the dogs and a Bearded Dragon named "Slim Shady". Not bad for a kid from Clitheroe, England, but you would have to know his family origins to discover why this was destined.

His inevitable rise to the top is right in line with the historical pattern of his ancestors; he is not of basic heredity. As with us all, in Bisping's case, all men are NOT created equal. His genetics descend from Poland. His ancestry consists of elite soldier warriors that earned vast lands and Polish aristocracy (Bishops) based on the security force services his ancestors provided for the Nobles and Emperors during their time in Poland. This was before his land, what would have been his inherited land, was invaded by the Russians and his grandfather Jan Bisping had to sacrifice his own life, so that Michaels dad, the younger Jan Bisping and remaining family could escape to England with nothing. They had to start over in a new country as nobodies with nothing but a family history of Service to Country. There is a book about it, but it is not easily available and you'd have to ask Mike personally but, Believe you Me, all of the good stuff was probably added to his new Release, Quitters Never Win (Available Now on Amazon). Speaking of Quitters Never Win; upon Reading you will find that you can follow along the book with the UFC Fight pass access and watch all the fights as you read about them in the book to get some real contexts. It makes reading the book very interactive.

So Michael had to rebuild his family legacy from scratch, and he did a better than sub-par job to say the least, (one more strong opening sentence and a little more info). Michael Bisping (/ˈbɪspɪŋ/, BIS-ping; born 28 February 1979) is an English mixed martial artist. He fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and is the current UFC Middleweight Champion. He is a former Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion, and The Ultimate Fighter 3 Light Heavyweight Tournament winner. He was the first English fighter in a UFC main event at UFC 78 and the first British fighter to win a UFC championship at UFC 199.

Bisping went on to defend his championship title in a rematch against Epstein at Cage Rage 9 in a knockout victory that solidified Bisping as one of the top light heavyweight fighters in England. It also earned him the moniker "The Great British Hope”. The most fascinating thing is that Bisping is left handed, but fights with his right, which confuses his opponents into making costly mistakes.

In early 2006 Bisping was featured on the UFC's The Ultimate Fighter reality television series as a contestant training under Tito Ortiz. He won a preliminary bout against Kristian Rothaermel by TKO, followed by a semi-final win against Ross Pointon by submission after landing a flying knee and a series of strikes. In the finals, Bisping finished Josh Haynes by TKO at 4:14 into the second round, making Bisping the second Light Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter television series.

After a slew of amazing victories, he worked his way up to become the UFC Middleweight champion for the first time at age 37 after beating Luke Rockhold via knockout at UFC 199.