Micheal Bisping had no problem fighting in the early hours of the morning.
Famous, 'The Count' grabbed an arena in Manchester, England, for his first middleweight title defense against Dan Henderson, the man who broke out in a brutal way seven years earlier, on UFC 204 in October 2016.
To make the map viable for the American pay-per-view market, the main event took place at 5 hours of local time, but that did not prevent Michael Bisping from surviving two early knockdowns to keep his title.
In July 2024, Leon Edwards was in the same position that he had to defend his belt in the early hours of the morning – but he could not overcome the unemelected start time and Belal Muhammad took his welter weights with a crooked decision at UFC 304.
Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images
Michael Bisping does not agree with Leon Edwards at 5 hours of fighting
Since he has lost his belt, Edwards has repeatedly mentioned the time of his fight with Muhammad when he tried to explain why he fell fans against the ruthless wrestler, who fans performed by comparing his boxing skills with Canelo Alvarez.
During the UFC London Media Day of Wednesday, 'Rocky' stated that even if Sean Brady beats Saturday night and becomes a double champion, he would never again agree to ever fight at 5 o'clock if he still offered a UK PPV Main Event Slot.
As far as Bisping is concerned, the very late start time is not the reason why Edwards lost to Muhammad last year.
“I can't speak for Leon and what he felt then,” said the: TNT Sports UFC expert during an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow. “However, I have a very different opinion, so I hesitate to say it.
“I don't try to dismiss his feelings or whatever, but I am from the line of thought that, regardless of the time of the day, when you walk to an arena, and there are 20,000 people, and you have trained for two months, the adrenaline starts and you will not really feel tired.
“He said that it was a bit off and he felt a step behind. And that happens. I think he might perceive that because it was in the middle of the night. That is an obvious conclusion to come.” Why didn't I shot all the cylinders? “Ah, well, it was at 5 o'clock in the morning.”
“I think sometimes you just have a bad night in the office. Of course Belal Muhammad was fantastic, he brought his A-Game and Leon may not have his best night. You have put it all together and I understand why he would come to that conclusion.
“Fortunately this is at Prime Time in the UK, so Leon will fire all cylinders and I can't wait for it.”
View UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady Live Live on TNT Sports and Discovery+ from 5 pm on Saturday 22 March
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