This Month’s MMA Birthdays: Michael Bisping Turns 40

Michael Bisping’s achievements in mixed martial arts seem destined to age well, even as he goes down in history as one of the sport’s most polarizing figures. One of 10 men who have captured the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title, “The Count” will celebrate his 40th birthday on Feb. 28.

Bisping burst on the global scene when he won Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in 2006 and later became a central piece in the UFC’s expansion into the United Kingdom. He won his first 14 fights as a professional before Rashad Evans knocked him from the ranks of the unbeaten at UFC 78 and went on to test his mettle against some of MMA’s all-time greats, including Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva. Bisping reached the mountaintop at UFC 199 on June 4, 2016, when he upset Luke Rockhold and laid claim to the 185-pound crown. A successful title defense against Henderson followed before he called it a career after back-to-back losses to Georges St. Pierre and Kelvin Gastelum. A five-time “Fight of the Night” and two-time “Performance of the Night” winner, Bisping ranks second on the UFC’s all-time list in wins (20) and third in appearances (29).

Others in MMA who are celebrating birthdays during the month of February:

FEB. 1

Bill Mahood, 52
Igor Pokrajac, 40
Sam Sicilia, 33
Ronda Rousey, 32
Jared Papazian, 31

FEB. 2

Hector Lombard, 41
Denis Stojnic, 39
Yusuke Kawanago, 36
Herbert Burns, 31
Eric Shelton, 28

FEB. 3

Doug Marshall, 42
Rodrigo Damm, 39
Ricardo Tirloni, 36
Phillipe Nover, 35
Eduardo Dantas, 30

FEB. 4

Andrei Arlovski, 40
Igor Gracie, 39
Satoru Kitaoka, 39
Luiz Cane, 38
Yaotzin Meza, 38

FEB. 5

Antoni Hardonk, 43
Lyle Beerbohm, 40
Johnny Cisneros, 39
Leonardo Santos, 39
Bubba Jenkins, 31
Joaquim Silva, 30

FEB. 6

Waachiim Spiritwolf, 43
Vik Grujic, 42
Shinichi Kojima, 40
Mamoru Nakamura, 38
Andrew Holbrook, 33
Ryan Hollis, 30
Khalil Rountree, 29

FEB. 7

Haruo Ochi, 35
Derrick Lewis, 34
T.J. Dillashaw, 33
Lance Palmer, 31
Cesar Avila, 30
Jae Hyun So, 30

FEB. 8

Kevin Ferguson, 1974-2016
Yuki Ishikawa, 52
Jaime Jara, 50
Chan Rothana, 33
Syuri Kondo, 30
Pawel Pawlak, 30

FEB. 9

Chris Clements, 43
Mark Munoz, 41
Charlie Brenneman, 38
Jake Rosholt, 37
Jake Hecht, 35
Henry Cejudo, 32
Felipe Arantes, 31

FEB. 10

Masakazu Imanari, 43
Matt Horwich, 41
Nick Ring, 40
Mariusz Radziszewski, 35
Islam Mamedov, 29

FEB. 11

Evan Tanner, 1971-2008
Ken Shamrock, 55
Ali Mokdad, 36
Stephen Thompson, 36
Vagab Vagabov, 33
Andrea Lee, 30
Bec Rawlings, 30
Megan Anderson, 29

FEB. 12

Jon Madsen, 39
Tony Ferguson, 35
Joey Miolla, 34
Luke Jumeau, 31
Stefan Sekulic, 27

FEB. 13

Elvis Sinosic, 48
Dean Lister, 43
Anthony Lapsley, 39
Ewerton Teixeira, 37
Dan Hooker, 29

FEB. 14

Kenny Robertson, 35
Micah Miller, 32
Chris Mierzwiak, 31
Jayson Jones, 30
Montana De La Rosa, 24

FEB. 15

Brian Rogers, 35
Cezar Ferreira, 34
Steven Siler, 32
Ciro Rodrigues, 30
Emiliano Sordi, 28

FEB. 16

Carina Damm, 40
Zelg Galesic, 40
Mark Eddiva, 33
Vladimir Mineev, 29
Mirsad Bektic, 28

FEB. 17

Brett Rogers, 38
Will Ribeiro, 36
Yoshitaka Naito, 35
Carrington Banks, 30
Anatoly Tokov, 29

FEB. 18

Jimi Manuwa, 39
Marvin Blumer, 37
Melvin Blumer, 37
Joseph Duffy, 31
Fabiano Silva da Conceicao, 31
Stefan Struve, 31
Curtis Blaydes, 28

FEB. 19

Chad Leonhardt, 39
Ben Alloway, 38
Liz Carmouche, 35
Ednaldo Oliveira, 35
Nam Jin Jo, 28

FEB. 20

Antonio Inoki, 76
Rousimar Palhares, 39
Tim Means, 35
Derek Anderson, 29
Damian Stasiak, 29

FEB. 21

Chris Kelades, 38
Paul Daley, 36
Alex Oliveira, 31
Roman Salazar, 31
Brian Ortega, 28
Brett Johns, 27
Matt Sayles, 25

FEB. 22

Wallid Ismail, 51
Gregor Herb, 41
Edgar Garcia, 35
Ryan Hall, 34
Colby Covington, 31
Kuat Khamitov, 31

FEB. 23

Ruan Potts, 41
Gina Begley, 38
James Vick, 32
Olivier Aubin-Mercier, 30
Mike Hofer, 29

FEB. 24

Andre Roberts, 54
Bas Rutten, 54
Jon Fitch, 41
Fernando Bruno, 37
Jan Blachowicz, 36

FEB. 25

Michael Quintero, 43
Kelly Kobold-Schmitz, 36
Ron Stallings, 36
Jacob McClintock, 31
Rachael Ostovich, 28

FEB. 26

John Lober, 51
T.J. Grant, 35
Ken Hasegawa, 32
Jeff Lentz, 30
Reant Febriza Rainir, 30

FEB. 27

Michael Knaap, 35
Antonio Castillo Jr., 32
Misha Cirkunov, 32
Thibault Gouti, 32
Sean Strickland, 28

FEB. 28

Jorge Rivera, 47
Michael Bisping, 40
Vinicius Alves Moreira, 40
Jarod Trice, 30
Glaico Franca, 28

FEB. 29

Jim Yorke, 43
Francimar Barroso, 39
Patrick Cote, 39