Michael Bisping will be tested as a middleweight contender for the very first time in his professional MMA career. He sounds pretty confident on his move down from 205 pounds 185. Although he says he feels stronger and more confident in this weight class, he’ll have to prove that he’s a better fighter at UFC 83 when he faces ‘Chainsaw’ Charles McCarthy.
Here’s a snip from Michael Bisping:
"I’ve between packing my bags for my flight to California to begin final
preparations for my UFC 83 fight in Montreal, Canada on April 19. I’m
flying out to train with my good buddy and UFC Light Heavyweight
Champion Rampage Jackson for three weeks to get ready for my debut as a
middleweight against ‘Chainsaw’ Charles McCarthy…I’m very excited about the fight, and the move down to the middleweight
division. I feel this is a fresh start, and the division I should have
been in a long time ago…I am getting faster with every pound I cut, and I am stronger than I
was for my last fight due to my new weight training programme. I took a
hard look at my training after my last fight and realise I was making
mistakes with my diet and with overtraining, too. I have made a lot of
corrections to my preparation and I am very excited about how I will
perform in Montreal…McCarthy is a good opponent, although I hope I’m going to get matched
with a striker one of these days. Everyone I’ve fought since getting to
the UFC via the Ultimate Fighter has been either a BJJ guy or a
wrestler and I really want to give fans a real exciting stand-up fight,
which is what I am known for back in England. I’ve been hearing McCarthy has been talking very confidently, which is good to hear. I want to fight the best he’s got, because I really feel I am at another
level now with my training and want to give the Canadian fans a great
fight."
