UFC 286 marked a historic moment for London, as it was the first time a pay-per-view card was set in the city.
Dana White even announced that the event was trending towards a $9.8 million gate, which is approximately 50% higher than the average gate for UFC events.
However, the commentary team encountered a setback as Joe Rogan was unable to attend due to the European location, and was replaced by local hero Michael Bisping.
Bisping’s performance drew criticism from MMA pros and pundits alike, who felt that his commentary during the main event fell short. Gaethje in particular, blasted Bisping at the presser after.
Gaethje criticized Bisping for his apparent bias towards Edwards and commented that he “shouldn’t have been nowhere near a microphone during that fight.” Gaethje also felt that Bisping’s commentary was unprofessional.
Leon Edwards, the first-ever UK champion to train out of the UK, was the focus of the event. Previously, this title was held by Michael Bisping, who had relocated to the US after a team split caused by gym finance mismanagement.
Bisping was clearly excited to be covering the hometown hero and even received a standing ovation from the crowd.
He went on to address the criticism saying:
He was piggy backing off of Jon Anik’s defense of him in which Anik said:
“Must say in defense of my broadcast partner @bisping, the man has zero agenda nor any bias when calling fights. Might even have closer personal relationship w/ Kamaru Usman than he does Leon Edwards. He just felt as though Edwards controlled the stand-up, landed more cleanly.”
” The job of MMA commentator is not as hard as that of fighter, judge, or referee, but it’s hard. We are judged on every utterance over 8+ hours and certainly there are things we’d love to take back. Someone is usually upset w/ something. Never had a perfect show. Never will.”