Michael Bisping - Quitters Never Win

Michael The Count Bisping was raised in Lancashire, descended from Polish nobility on his fathers side. He began training martial arts at the age of eight. After briefly quitting training at the age of 18, he took up boxing, kickboxing and MMA, making his professional debut in in 2004 and becoming Cage Rage light heavyweight champion within just three matches. In 2008 he made his middleweight debut in the UFC, and became UFC Middleweight Champion and the first (and only) British UFC champion in 2016. Since retiring in 2018, Michael has remained a powerful and passionate voice in the UFC community and also hosts a popular UFC podcast named after his catchphrase, Believe You Me. He lives in California with his wife and three children.

For Rebecca. Without her, the following wouldnt have happened

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Bisping couldnt sleep the night before the big battle.

He knew nothing about the adversary hed be fighting the next day. He felt unprepared. As the other fighters conserved their energy and took their minds off fighting with idle chatter, Bisping left the camp. He was going to spy on the enemy.

He travelled on foot into the dusk and continued until the sky was pitch-black. He walked slowly, crawling at times to avoid the attention of wolves which, he knew, could weigh over 10 stone. Finally, he reached the foot of the mountain that had been on the horizon. There was no moon but the stars, unusually bright, gave light enough for Bisping to pick his way up the slopes and through the vineyards that clung to its moist soil.

From the summit, Bisping found what he was looking for: the enemy encampment. It was too dark to see the individual soldiers, but every campfire was clearly visible in the night, and these allowed him to make an accurate estimate of the enemys number. And Bisping or Bischoping as he would have spelled it returned to his own camp armed with that vital piece of information.

With full knowledge of the forces opposing them, the army of the Prince-Bishop, sovereign ruler of the state of Mnster, attacked immediately. The rout of these invaders earned Bischoping (Germanic for Bishops Man) land and the hereditary title of Count. The family coat of arms was created it depicts a bright star over a grapevine.

That coat of arms was worn centuries later by Thomas Bischoping when he served in the army of King Stefan Batory of Poland. Thomas had been born around 1560 in Mnster but left home to seek greater fame and fortune in the war against Ivan the Terribles Russian army. Like his ancestor, Thomass courage and fighting ability were rewarded by the grant of lands this time on the provision that Thomas and his descendants would defend it against invasions from the north.

Two decades later, on 4 January 1609, Thomass younger son, Johann Bischoping, rode his horse through the gates of Hradcany Castle in Prague. He demanded an audience with King Rudolph II, the Holy Roman Emperor.

As the younger son in an age when only the eldest inherited lands and titles, Johann had left his ancestral home to seek his own fortune and glory as a commander in the army of Lithuania. But, initially, the Lithuanian military questioned whether the man who showed up was truly one of the famous Bischoping fighting noblemen.

Johann vowed to return with proof of his birthright a letter signed by the King.

The Imperial Chancellerys endorsement of Johanns nobility, dated 5 January 1609, is still in the Vienna State Archives. Written in Latin, the document describes in minute detail the Bischoping coat of arms and warns any royal house of Europe refusing to recognise Johann Bischopings status will be fined 50 gold marks (half of which would be paid to Johann, and half to the treasury).

Now convinced the knight was the man he claimed to be, the Lithuanian army dispatched Bischoping and a garrison of men to defend a stretch of the northern border. Johann defended it so well that he was granted ownership of much of the land. Now a nobleman in his own right, Johann had founded another Bisping dynasty.

On 12 September 1683, Teofil Bisping served gallantly in the liberation of Vienna from the Ottoman Empire forces whod laid siege to the city since July. The Bisping banner is displayed to this day in a Viennese chapel commemorating the rescue.

A century later, when Poland ceased to be recognised by the Russian, Austrian and Prussian aggressors as an independent state, Jan Bisping was among the nobles who refused to surrender. In 1812, that Bisping founded a military unit and joined forces with Napoleon to fight against their common enemies.

One hundred and thirty years later, at the onset of the Second World War, another Jan Bisping was the latest Bisping to be called upon to defend his ancestral home. This time the invading Russians wore the uniforms of the USSRs Red Army. They came with machine guns and tanks and the orders to kill every Polish noble.

Jan Bisping had no choice but to flee west into what was now German-occupied Poland. He and his wife Maria loaded their 11 children on a cart drawn by draught horses. Communist sympathisers arrived and blocked their escape. Jan handed rifles to his three eldest sons, including 15-year-old Andrzej, and charged. The communists scattered as the young Bispings fired and the cart got through.

The Germans allowed the Bispings to pass into the territory they occupied, and the family were given shelter in a farmhouse. They probably rested easy for the first time in days, but they were not out of the reach of the Red Army yet.

It was September 1939 and the MolotovRibbentrop Pact between Russia and Germany came into effect. The Bispings had gone to sleep in the relative safety of German-occupied Poland; when they woke the border had been moved miles to the west, and they were again deep into Russian territory. A desperate flight to the new border ensued but the Russians were determined to capture the nobleman. As they closed in on him, Jan Bisping gave himself up so his family could escape.

He was never heard from again.

Maria made it to Western Europe. Some of her children were taken in by relations in powerful families in Italy and France but she continued until reaching England. Andrzej, now a man, accompanied her. With his mother safe, Andrzej (Andrew) joined the Free Polish unit of the British military.

His son, the latest Jan Bisping, was born in London after the war. Proud of the country of his birth, Jan served in the British Army until the 1980s.

I am Jans son. My name is Michael Bisping. I am a fighter from a very long line of fighters.

I was born Michael Galen-Bisping on 28 February 1979. My mother, Kathleen, was taken to the Princess Marys Hospital at the small Akrotiri British military base near Limassol, in the south of Cyprus. Like with international embassies, military bases are sovereign territory. Id have to explain that I was actually born on British soil to UFC producers, who thought they needed to show the twin olive branch flag of Cyprus when I was introduced in the Octagon.