Michael Bisping

Learn the stories, history, and strategy of the sport's greatest champions—in their own words! Mixed martial arts (MMA) has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. With Dana White helping bring Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to prominence and respectability, as well as Conor McGregor becoming one of the sport’s biggest stars, fans are skipping the squared circle for the Octagon.In Champions of the Octagon, writer Fiaz Rafiq interviews many of the greatest MMA and UFC champions of all-time, including Georges St-Pierre, Holly Holm, Daniel Cormier, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Randy Couture, and many others. Readers will learn of their upbringings, their introductions to the sport, and how they worked their way to be the best ever.Spending decades covering the sport and building relationships with those who have fought in the Octagon, Rafiq shares never-before-seen interviews and intimate stories from these greats. Learn from Royce Gracie how his family helped bring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to America, Anderson Silva on challenging boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., BJ Penn on how he got introduced to MMA, Brock Lesnar on using his skills from WWE and bringing them to UFC, Alexander Volkanovski on a quest to dominate his division, Holly Holm on dethroning Ronda Rousey, and so much more.From the early days of the sport and its rich history to today’s stars and the future of MMA, Champions of the Octagon pulls back the curtain on their lives and careers. Including interviews from thirty-six UFC champions (seventeen Hall of Famers), hear never-before-told stories from the fighters who helped build the sport to what it is today.

"The fighter's life is not an easy one. No one knows that more than Michael Bisping. But few have done it better." --Thomas Gerbasi, UFC.com Britain's own Rocky Balboa, Michael Bisping tells the incredible story of how he went from rough and humble beginnings and then on to a legendary career capped by winning the Middleweight Championship. "If I quit the first time I tasted defeat, I wouldn't be here now," Bisping once said. The ultimate UFC underdog, Bisping fought his way to Number One contender status three times, only to be knocked back. But he refused to give in, clawing his way to his first World Title shot at the age of 37--when he finally became champion in one of the greatest upsets in UFC history. Loaded with the humor and brutal honesty that first won him a following and made him one of the sport's biggest stars, Bisping recounts his record setting 13-year fight career battling the likes of Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, and Dan Henderson. "The Count" tells his story in a way that only he knows how. " An] unprecedented look at one of the most incredible--and most entertaining--careers the UFC has ever seen." --John Morgan, lead staff reporter for MMA Junkie, host of The MMA Road Show

A British underdog in the greatest fighting championship on earth, he spent the next decade winning some of the championship's most sensational contests to achieve his dream, becoming the first ever British UFC world champion in 2016.