Michael Bisping will return to the Octagon on Saturday for the first time since he was knocked cold by Dan Henderson at UFC 100 -- a knockout that he now describes as an embarrassing experience.
"There's no secret I got knocked out in my last fight, and sitting there and being all touchy about it isn't going to help. I'll be the first one to take a piss out of myself. I lost the fight. I got knocked out on the world's biggest stage. A lot of people get caught. That's the way mixed martial arts is. My pride's hurt. It was embarrassing. I'm embarrassed. A lot of people were watching all over the world, the biggest UFC to date, and I got knocked out. I'm embarrassed. I've lost a bit of respect in the fighting world and I want to take that respect back. First thing on the list is beating Denis Kang."
I don't think Bisping needs to be embarrassed: He got beaten by a better fighter, and there's nothing embarrassing about that. My biggest question about Bisping is where he is psychologically. That's a question Kang raised when I interviewed him -- Kang said he wonders whether Bisping is going to turn into a tentative fighter because he doesn't want to suffer another brutal knockout.
I have a feeling Bisping is going to come back stronger from the Henderson knockout. There's no question that it's what's driving him as he prepares to fight Kang.
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