Michael Bisping wins a big fight at UFC 152

Michael Bisping has been here before.  A big fight with a big payoff – a possible title shot.

Bisping knows how to get to this place: win the fights that put you in a position to win another fight that puts you in the conversation of legitimate contenders to Anderson Silva’s UFC middleweight championship.

He just never knew what it felt like to win this fight. Until now.

Bisping worked his jab and succeeded with several takedowns to beat Brian Stann at UFC 152 in Toronto on Saturday night. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Bisping.

 “I’m not the most talented person in the world, but I’m hungry, I want it,” Bisping said. “And that overpowers anything. My desire to be the world champion isn’t going away. Owners of the organization, c’mon, hook a brother up.”

Bisping controlled the fight with his left jab, landing it frequently and keeping Stann at bay. He got his first takedown 40 seconds into the second round, but couldn’t do much with it. He used another slam to take Stann to the ground with 40 seconds left in the round. Another pair of takedowns in the third round gave Bisping the scoring he needed to win the bout.

“I think I have more a well-round skill set,” Bisping said.

Stann showed solid takedown defense in the first round. He also landed a big right hand in the final 15 seconds of the first round that wobbled Bisping (24-4). It was the most significant strike landed by Stann (12-5) in the bout.