Former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping has narrated the âcraziestâ story in the promotionâs history.
Not many topics invoke as many fan theories and debates like sport. One of the most prominent questions during the 20th century was, âWhat would happen if a wrestler fought a boxer?â
While a host of disciplines existed, from judo and karate to Muay Thai and Vale Tudo, as well as prominent disciplines like boxing and wrestling, no one had put them to the test to see which would be the most effective in a fight that pitted styles against one another.
That was until 1993 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship hit screens for the first time.
While the organization has since cemented itself as the most successful and recognizable in martial arts, its formation and early days werenât without some trying to stifle its growth. During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping shined a light on one such instance.
After reaching number one in his countdown of the five craziest stories in UFC history, which had already included Nick Diaz and Joe Riggsâ hospital brawl, Bruce Buffer and Frank Triggâs elevator scrap, and Dana Whiteâs near-boxing bout with Tito Ortiz, âThe Countâ harked back to the early days.
âWhen the UFC was first created, all these martial arts magazines, they claimed that the whole thing was bull-shido,â said Bisping.
Why would martial arts magazines claim such a thing? Well, according to Bisping, to protect their own falsified narrative surrounding ancient techniques.
âListen, you gotta feel for these guys. Imagine that youâre the editor of a â90s martial arts magazine,â said Bisping. âYou have spent years convincing people that the bull-shido artists and the kung-fools are the baddest men on the planet. You have promoted flying kicks, the five-finger exploding death punches, and dim mak (Touch of Death) as legit martial arts techniques. You are making a fortune selling classified ads for ninja stars and over-the-price booklets promising the secrets of the shinobi.
âBut then, all of a sudden, along comes the UFC and all your claims are exposed! Like a pervert in a raincoat,â added Bisping. âYes, Iâm sorry, the dim mak wasnât real. The flying kicks, they never land, and the secret of the shinobi⌠the secret of the shinobi is that itâs a load of bollocks.â
Bisping: The Bull-shidos Couldnât Accept It
Itâs perhaps unsurprising that after years of box-office hits and best-selling material attempting to display a mystic perception of martial arts, publishers werenât best pleased when the likes of Tank Abbott stole the attention and brought what they perceived to be an undesirable truth to the game.
Bisping added that when evidence came to light exposing the magazines and their martial arts pretense, they responded in the only way they could: flipping the script onto the UFC and its damaging fights.
The Englishman also broke the hearts of kids around the world plotting to use the Kung Fu Panda nerve attack on their siblingsâŚ
âNow listen, youâve gotta feel for these guys. Faced with the actual evidence of what happens when different martial arts are pitted against one another, when they are put to the test, what do you do?â Bisping questioned. âYou canât admit that you have been lying to everyone for years. Who is gonna buy your magazine ever again? So, of course, if youâre the editor, what do you do? You have to claim that the entire thing is fake.
âYou cannot pretend that what youâve been peddling, pushing, and promoting all these years is fake. What about the dim mak, the flying kicks that never land, the one-hit death punches, and all this nonsense that just doesnât work? What about the pressure points? They donât work in a real-life situation⌠The bull-shidos, they couldnât accept it,â concluded Bisping.
Itâs safe to say that the creation and success of the UFC has been key in changing the global perception of mixed martial arts.
Without its inception, perhaps weâd all be working on our death touches and flying kicks. Although if you ask Anthony Pettis, the latter isnât outside the realms of whatâs possible inside the cageâŚ
Did you write that bullshit? Canât ever get WEC correct and was about 8 seconds longâŚ