UFC London: Anderson Silva's steroid use makes him 'a fraud', claims Michael Bisping

Ahead of Saturday's fight at the O2 the British Middleweight says he used to look up to the Brazilian and tells the Independent that Connor McGregor is already a 'legend'

Michael Bisping (GETTY IMAGES)

Ahead of UFC Fight Night at London’s O2 arena, British middleweight Michael Bisping has labelled his opponent, Anderson Silva, “a fraud” for his steroid use.

At the UFC media day, Bisping was discussing his feelings towards Silva’s one-year ban for steroid use following the Brazilian’s fight against Nick Diaz.

“Yeah [Anderson’s steroid use] burns me because Anderson was the guy I looked up to, not just me, everybody. Everybody was amazed at the things he was doing inside the Octagon: the knockouts, the way he did it, it was just awesome.

“I used to stay up until the middle of the night in England to watch the pay-per-views, I was the biggest Anderson Silva fan, he was an inspiration, and then we find out he wasn’t playing fair all this while, that’s a huge disappointment.

“Myself, I bust my ass, I’ve give my heart and soul to this, I’ve done it through blood, sweat and tears the hard way, there has been no short-cuts. So yeah of course it hurts, it stings, you know anybody who does that is a fraud.”

Bisping has had his own problems in the past, related to his behaviour, which he admitted some of which he regretted.

“I still do it now, I mean I put my foot in my mouth all the time, like for example I saw one of the embeddeds and I thought ‘oh for crying out loud why did they use that?’ The thing is those cameras follow you around all day, and when you know the camera’s on you try and speak a little more eloquently, but they don’t want that, they want to paint you as a ‘bad boy’ or whatever and I said something and used a bit of foul language and you’re like ‘jeez, there’s no way you’d address people like that if you know you’re going to be on television’.

“So you cringe a little bit, and of course I’ve said things over the years that maybe I regret, but I’ve matured in front of the camera, this is my eleventh year competing for the UFC, speaking to people like yourselves with a camera in my face, I have said stupid things, of course, and I will still say stupid things, I’ll do it Saturday night, guaranteed.”

Asked if his earlier behaviour played a part in the rise of other controversial personalities like Connor McGregor and former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, Bisping downplayed his impact, although was full of praise for both fighters.

“I have no idea, I know Conor McGregor is his own man. I certainly can’t take any credit for the way he handles himself. Conor is a legend already, an incredible superstar and an amazing athlete, as is Ronda, as is everybody. I’m just focussed on myself, trying to do the best I can for my family, and try and represent this great nation of ours.”

Michael Bisping takes on Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC Fight Night this Saturday at the O2 Arena. You can watch the fight exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.