INGLEWOOD, CA - JUNE 04: Michael Bisping of England celebrates after his first round knockout win against Luke Rockhold in their UFC middleweight championship bout during the UFC 199 event at The Forum on June 4, 2016 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Almost exactly 10 years after debuting in the UFC as the winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" season 3, Michael Bisping finally realized his dream this past June when he defeated Luke Rockhold to become the new middleweight champion of the world.
That moment not only put Bisping on top of the world at 185-pounds but it was only one of a few life changing moments for the 37-year-old Brit that ultimately led to his selection as the "Fighter of the Year" in 2016 for FOX Sports.
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Bisping started his year in February when he received a long-awaited matchup with former champion Anderson Silva.
When he was considered the most fearsome fighter in all of mixed martial arts, Silva defeated many of his opponents before they even stepped into the Octagon with him. Quite possibly the most devastating finisher in the history of the sport, Silva was a one man wrecking machine hell bent on separating all of his opponents from consciousness. Yet throughout his reign as champion Bisping was constantly nipping at his heels asking for a fight.
When Bisping finally got his chance he made the most of it.
Bisping outboxed Silva for the better part of five rounds and besides a severe error in the third round -- one that he takes complete responsibility for making where he allowed Silva to nearly knock him out while complaining about his mouthpiece to the referee -- he dominated the fight for almost the entire 25 minutes.
"That's why I was so emotional after the fight. Of course the fight was in England, it's a fight I've always wanted. I still wear the scars from that fight on my face to this day. Regardless of whether he was the champion or not the champion, for me it was a personal goal achieved, something I aspired to my entire career," Bisping told FOX Sports about the Silva fight. "He debuted against Chris Leben a couple of days after I won 'The Ultimate Fighter' finale. I was there ringside and I thought to myself I want to fight this guy, I know I can beat him.
"For me, it was a personal goal achieved and I'm very, very proud of that fight."
Nearly four months later, Bisping was in Toronto filming his part in the new film "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage" alongside Vin Diesel when he got a call that former middleweight champion Chris Weidman was injured and the UFC needed a replacement to face current 185-pound king Luke Rockhold.
Of course, this was arguably the worst-case scenario for Bisping to receive his first UFC title shot.
Not only had he been filming a movie for weeks while not doing any serious MMA training, but Rockhold had handed Bisping one of the toughest defeats of his career in 2014. The rematch would give Bisping the title shot he had clamored to receive for years, but he'd be at a massive disadvantage against a fighter who had already beaten him once before.
Despite all those odds against him, Bisping didn't flinch and instead accepted the fight on a moment's notice.
At UFC 199, Bisping then proceeded to shock the world with a stunning first-round knockout to silence the doubters who said he would never be champion while also putting an exclamation point on his rematch with Rockhold by finishing him in rather dramatic fashion.
It was the culmination of a dream that started long before Bisping stepped into the Octagon. Add to that, Bisping doing it all on short notice only made the storybook ending that much more poetic.
"It was just incredible. I wanted to avenge that loss, I knew I could do better than that and it pissed me off. Any time a fighter loses a fight they want that rematch. When he beat Chris Weidman to win the belt, for me that really lit a fire inside me. It really reignited a fire inside of me to say I know I can compete with these guys," Bisping said.
"Taking it on short notice made it even better. I believed in myself, I knew I could beat Luke Rockhold and I went out there and showed the world."
Following the win over Rockhold in June, Bisping was waiting word on his next fight when rumors began to swirl that he might get one more shot to eradicate another particularly tough loss that's haunted his record for years.
Back at UFC 100 following a stint as coach on "The Ultimate Fighter," Bisping became the subject of one of the most brutal knockouts in the history of the sport after Dan Henderson landed a thunderous right hand that twisted his head around like something out of "The Exorcist" before he was laid unconscious just seconds later.
Bisping doesn't actually remember the ending of that fight, but he's certainly seen the highlight hundreds of times and nothing would satisfy him more than getting a second shot at Henderson, who was nearing retirement.
The UFC opted to make the fight a reality and pit Bisping against Henderson in a rematch that took place in the champion's hometown in England.
Henderson made quite the showing in his final fight, nearly finishing Bisping in the opening round with the same right hand that put his lights out the first time. Fortunately for Bisping, he recovered and came back to win a five-round decision to defend his title for the first time.
"Really all the pieces came together perfectly. Of course we all know people were pissed off about the matchup, but it all fell into place. It was a perfect storm," Bisping said about the fight with Henderson. "If that had not have happened, I would have never been able to avenge that loss. Of course in the fight, he had his moments in rounds one and two but when that happens, it just makes it more epic. Everybody wants to go out there and destroy their opponents, but there's a really good feeling knowing you had to go through a war and had to fight through adversity. It just shows your heart and your will.
"It almost makes the win better, knowing that you really, really had to fight for it."
At the end of the year, Bisping closes the door on 2016 with a perfect 3-0 record while defeating an all-time legend in Anderson Silva, settling a grudge with Dan Henderson and avenging a prior loss to Luke Rockhold while also becoming the best middleweight in the world.
"For me, I don't know what the correct word is. Of course, it's amazing, it's very touching. It's like I always knew I was a good fighter, I always knew I was world class, I knew I was always good enough to be world champion and it seems like finally I'm getting the recognition I deserved. I've always worked hard, nothing's changed. I'm still as hungry as day one. Now I have the belt. I've had the best year of my career. That's obvious. It's very touching and I'm very thankful," Bisping said about being named "Fighter of the Year."
"This year has been fantastic. I finally got the belt. I did a couple of really good movies. I got recognition from my peers so it's just been an incredible year. You couldn't have written it any better. But I'll tell you this I've got plans for 2017 that are going to be even bigger than 2016 -- if what comes off down the pipeline -- 2017 will be even bigger than 2016."
Bisping isn't sitting alone when it comes to the best fighters in the world during 2016 because one more name was added following the conclusion of UFC 207 on Friday night in Las Vegas.
Cody Garbrandt finished out his year with a stunning decision victory over Dominick Cruz to become the new UFC bantamweight champion while also wrapping up a perfect 4-0 year in 2016.
Garbrandt went from an unranked challenger when the year began to champion when it was over.
It's impossible to ignore the incredible run Garbrandt made during 2016 and that's why he's also being recognized as a "Fighter of the Year" by FOX Sports.
"I went from unranked to world champion in the same calendar year. It has to do something. I beat one of the best guys that's been pound-for-pound for so many years. I think I should deserve 'Fighter of the Year,'" Garbrandt said after his win at UFC 207. "But like I said when I set out to be a fighter, I just didn't want to be a UFC fighter or just an average fighter -- I wanted to be the best, the greatest at my abilities I could be. That's what I set out to do.
"Fight after I fight, I set out to build my legacy and now here it is, I've got to protect it. This is a chapter of my life that's closed. I got the fight, now we're onto the next chapter defending the title until the wheels fall off or I get too old and retire."
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