SUMMARY
- Michael Bisping was on call for UFC 298 in Anaheim, California alongside Jon Anik and Joe Rogan.
- Following the concluding segment, the broadcast team forgot to cut away, prompting Bisping to believe he was off-air.
UFC 298 is in the books and what a night of action we had. In what was a night stacked with some solid performances throughout the card, it was actually a commentator who stole the limelight. During the concluding segment of UFC 298, Michael Bisping did something that fans could not help but discuss.
For those unaware, ‘The Count’ was on call for UFC 298 in Anaheim, California. Alongside Jon Anik and Joe Rogan, the team received a lot of praise for their commentary on the night. However, it was almost entirely undone after Michael Bisping’s action in the closing segment of the night. Recapping the events of the main event, the former middleweight champ heaped praise on the newly-crowned featherweight champ, Ilia Topuria.
In China we always get the awkward silences and hear behind the scenes stuff when people are just chatting. Here’s @bisping wrapping up the show, watch till the end 😂 #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/vHaef1MnSv
— Daniel White (@DanielWhite_93) February 18, 2024
Speaking about his memorable feat, Bisping closed the show by saying, “15-0, undefeated, 13 stoppages, what a guy, what a night, UFC 298 Anaheim, California certainly one for the books”. However, the broadcast team forgot to cut away, prompting Michael to believe he was off-air. Thereafter, he criticized his own comments, stating, “What a guy? That’s f*****g g**. All right bye bye”. Naturally, a few people still watching caught the incident at the end.
Michael Bisping has a history of using homophobic slurs
For the most part, many know Michael Bisping as the lively and animated commentator he is. However, in the past, he was a loud, unabashed, trash-talking fighter. During his fighting days, the Englishman was perhaps one of the rudest and unapologetic fighters on the roster. Thus, he was no stranger to making NSFW comments and remarks on his opponents.
Throughout his career, Michael faced many greats of the sport. Be it Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva, or Georges St-Pierre, the list goes on. However, despite fighting all these legends, his biggest rivalry was against former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold. Over the years, Bisping and Rockhold locked horns twice and had one of the fiercest rivalries in the sport.
Bisping and Rockhold still going at it after the post fight press conference. pic.twitter.com/Ojiiwlo9O1
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) June 5, 2016
Thus, the two often hurled insults at each other, which have become some of the most iconic trash-talking moments in UFC history. However, after their UFC 199 press conference, Bisping called Rockhold a ‘f****t’ live on air, before apologizing to the media and asking them to scrub it. Although he has transitioned from a fighter to a commentator since then, it seems like he is still the same person after all.
Fans react to Michael Bisping’s hot mic moment at UFC 298
Following the incident on Saturday night, fans who saw it flocked to social media to talk about it. Soon thereafter, videos of Bisping’s closing segment went viral with many fans pouring in with their takes. Understandably, the comments were NSFW and similar comments have been heavily scrutinized in the UFC lately. Thus, many would assume that Michael’s comments would be treated in a similar way as others.
Previously, Charles Radke and Manel Kape went viral for their homophobic comments at UFC 293. Whilst Radke lashed out at the crowd for booing him after winning against an Aussie native, Kape sounded off at Kai Kara-France. On both occasions, Daniel Cormier had to snatch the mic away from the fighters. Similarly, we have also seen a great controversy with Israel Adesanya using racial slurs at Dricus du Plessis. Thus, some feel that Bisping’s comments could see him lose his job as well.
Recently, Ryan Clark was seemingly fired off his show with Daniel Cormier for suggesting the women’s bantamweight division should be scrapped. Although Bisping’s situation is entirely different, it could result in a similar outcome. In the meantime, fans have expressed their desire to have Bisping around despite the comments.
As such fans wrote, “Keep Bisping man he’s hilarious,” and “Bisping did nothing wrong, he better not be punished for this, it’s his greatest commentary moment of all time”. Similarly, others chimed in by saying, “I like him 10 x more now @bisping what a guy”. Notably, Michael’s honesty, and ability to not take himself too seriously have gone down well with fans. As such, they feel that there shouldn’t be repercussions for his comments whatsoever.