Ahead of his ‘Tales From The Octagon 2’ tour at the Manchester O2 Apollo this week, we had the immense pleasure of chatting to MMA legend Michael Bisping about what fans can expect from the show.
The live panel will not only be featuring Bisping himself but fellow combat sport favourites Paul Craig as well as Salford-born UFC star Tom Aspinall, fresh off his huge victory and interim title.
During the conversation, we got an insight into what the exclusive show is going to be like, a few of the surprises in store, as well as his take on combat sports today, his career highlights and his lasting love for the city of Manchester.
Here’s how the chat went:
Paul Craig, Michael Bisping and local lad Tom Aspinall are coming to the Manchester Apollo this Saturday, 16 December (Credit: Supplied)
So you’ve got your ‘Tales From The Octagon 2’ tour coming to Manchester — for anybody unaware, can you tell them a little bit about what the concept is?
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“So, in 2021 I got the opportunity to do a show ‘Tales from the Octagon [1]’ but it was more of a one-man show. I was very, VERY nervous; I’d never done anything like that and it was five or six dates up and down the UK and it ended up being a tremendous thing and the crowd loved it.
In Manchester alone, I think there was 3,500 people there — it was mental, to be honest. Then the promoters asked me if I wanted to do it again and I just thought, well, I’ve told my story so I don’t want to rip people off and just do it again for the sake of it.
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“Then I realised there’s a lot of things going on in the world of mixed martial arts; there’s lots of stories, lots of tales about other people, so why not make it kind of a celebration of British MMA and I’ll start the show off by pretty much just taking the p*ss out of a lot of the big names in MMA.
Sounds great and, as you say, among those big names are veteran Paul Craig and newly-crowned Manc champ, Tom Aspinall — how excited are you for these guys to be part of it?
Yes, so after I chat for a bit, Paul and Tom are going to come out and, obviously [Aspinall] just became the interim heavyweight champion of the world. Perfect timing!
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So get yourself out, come and meet the champ; we’ll have a drink, take the p*ss and we’re going to delve deep into the mind of both of them, ask some questions, get them to do some silly stuff. I think Tom’s actually going to sing some karaoke as well! I’m telling you, they’re all about it and well up for the silly antics.
There’ll be a Q&A with the audience and then a bit of a meet and greet afterwards as well as some more surprises along the way, maybe even a couple of special unannounced guests for the Manchester show only.
Brilliant. So what is it about these guys and what they’ll bring to the party that made you pick them?
Well, it’s about celebrating their careers in a fun way. What Tom’s just done has just been absolutely phenomenal: that performance last week in New York was just mind-blowing and, more importantly, me, Tom and Paul have all become friends.
I only met them through their MMA careers but our personalities have gelled. They’ve come on my podcast, they’ve got a great sense of humour and they’re nice lads.
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As I say, Tom became champion of the world, so that’s a bonus and Paul’s now had his first-ever main event fights now, so both of them are doing absolutely fantastic and that’s how it all came together. Nice. Yeah. It’s almost like you knew that the success was on the cards.
Absolutely, it’s almost like you knew that success was coming. Let’s talk a little bit about that interim title fight.
I mean, I’ve been supporting the pair of them for a long time and I always said Tom was going to do big things; I always said he’ll be champion of the world — I didn’t think he’d make it look that easy, though. If I had to put it in three words they’d be ‘absolutely bloody mental’.
I didn’t think he’d knock out Sergei Pavlovich the way that he did, but I’ve been a big cheerleader of his for a long time now and I’m just so proud of him.
More brutal than ever Bisping predicted.
I’m proud of him, his father, his whole team; how he carries himself, how humble he is, how he represents Manchester and the UK. He’s a phenomenal guy and the same goes for Paul Craig up in Scotland.
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I was there ringside and I thought he’d go out there and dance around a little bit — use his speed, use his footwork, maybe wrestle him, take him down — I didn’t think he was going to stand toe to toe, go full Tyson Fury on him and spark him out in 69 seconds. I was doing some analysis on ESPN afterwards and I’d completely lost my voice.
I’m proud of him, his father, his whole team; how he carries himself, how humble he is, how he represents Manchester and the UK. He’s a phenomenal guy and the same goes for Paul Craig up in Scotland.
It really was incredible. What is it do you think about the North West that makes it such a good breeding ground for combat sports?
You know what, a lot of people have been asking me this recently and I asked Tom about it the other day, and I think it’s something about those tough, working-class towns in and around Manchester and NW where nothing’s ever handed to us, but if we’re honest, it’s the same up and down the UK.
It’s not like our upbringing is particularly hard compared to other similar parts of the country, but maybe it’s the weather, you know? It p*sses it down almost every single day and we’re just angry inside and p*ssed off.
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I’m not really sure, mate, but I know I’m proud to be one of many [Northern fighters].
And yet, in contrast to that, he said, he said he felt a little bit scared before the fight but that fear is almost like his secret weapon — is that something that you can sort of understand or relate to?
100%, every single fight you go into there’s those nerves and the fear but it’s not of getting punched in the face or anything, we’re scared of failing and, to a certain degree, getting knocked out in front of the world. It’s a little bit embarrassing — I’ve been there, it doesn’t feel good.
Most of us are fighting for our families and it’s a lifestyle that’s just chosen us really, d’ya know what I mean? I left school at 16 and for one reason or the other, this is the kind of cloth that we’re cut from but you still want a career and you want to provide your family with the best life possible.
There’s not as much at stake with your first few amateur fights, obviously, but when it’s who you are and you’ve been doing it for a while or there’s something on the line, losing can be terrible for your career. Titles can be hard to come by — it took me till nearly 40 to get my first one.
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Is there a standout heavy hitter or toughest fight that comes to mind? I think I can guess this one…
Of course. The hardest puncher I ever faced is without question Dan Henderson. I fought him at UFC 100. I got sparked out in sensational fashion. I had no idea where I was for ages, I thought I’d lost three months of my life and it’s a long story that I went into it in my book and my documentary and stuff.
I then fought him again here in Manchester (UFC 204) and that was an unbelievable event which went on until gone 5am. The entire game plan was to avoid that right hand, the ‘H-bomb’ as they call it, but he cracked me again in the second round, fractured all my orbital bone and that’s how this left eye ended up being fake.
I could hardly see like in the final round, there was just a little slither of light, so yeah: him without question. As for other fights and standout moments, winning the Middleweight Championship against Anderson Silva in London and then defending it in Manchester, you know, a bit of a homecoming by bringing the belt back here when I was pushing 40, was phenomenal.
I kind of resigned myself to thinking that would never happen and Silva was always someone I wanted to fight. It was a bit of a war, I left that fight covered in blood and had stitches all over my face, but it was fun. It’s nice to have those kinds of battles and he’s an absolute bloody legend.
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Trigger warning: NOT for the squeamish.
Yeah, you were 37 at that time and you’re 44 now, how do you think UFC and the sport, in general, have changed since then?
Well, this is one thing I talk about in the show and the short of it is simply that nobody used to know what it was. There was like a small underground kind of cult that were involved in it but the mainstream didn’t have a clue.
I remember signing up to a gym and they asked what I did and I had to say athlete, then fighter, then MMA fighter and this lady said, ‘What’s MMA?’
I had to say cage fighting in the end and she looked at me like an absolute bloody psycho, as if she might call the police and, to be fair, back in the day there were a lot of dodgy people, small-time promotions run by wannabe gangsters, possibly money laundering and stuff like that. It was definitely a sketchy scene.
However, there were always real fighters and real people that were trying to make a legitimate career and then the sport started to skyrocket in America, it got on TV and slowly but surely it started to earn credibility and generate more money, more recognition and attract new fighters. Boxing’s always been there but now MMA and UFC is a path young people can actually consider now.
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Yeah, the fight scene in general has changed so much now and one thing I did want to get your opinion on was the whole influencer/YouTuber/celebrity boxing thing. There’s been a lot of them recently — what do you make of it, is it a good or a bad thing?
“Oh god. Well, I don’t think anyone thought that was a good thing when KSI was doing jumping jacks against Tommy Fury. I don’t think that was a good thing — that was a BAD thing.
Someone said it was a robbery and yeah, it was a robbery: anyone that bought a ticket or paid to watch that absolute crap deserves their money back.”
— In case you hadn’t guessed already, Mike had plenty of thoughts on this subject alone…
But I guess you do understand the celebrity world a little bit now with your various projects — presenting, YouTube, podcasting, even acting — is there one you’ve come to favour over the other?
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It’s weird, you know; I feel like such a knobhead when people mention the acting [in xXx: Return of Xander Cage] because that just kind of came about by accident. I got offered a movie out of the blue in 2009, so I did some of acting lessons and I was totally sh*tting my pants, but I really enjoyed it.
From there I got a part on Hollyoaks and, obviously, I’m always the bad guy and have died in a lot of different ways but, as I say, even though I feel weird and a bit cringe inside talking about this, it’s a challenge and it’s one I enjoy.
I love out in LA now and have an agent, so I’m sort of chipping away at the side of things. I’ve got a couple of good films coming out next year, Den of Thieves 2 and Red Sonja (that’s my biggest part yet) and hopefully I’ve got another massive one next year, so it’s great. I’ll never say I’m an actor but it’s fun.
As for commentating, I absolutely love it because I’m still involved with the sport and people always ask, ‘Do you miss it?’, and I’m like, well, no, not really because I’m still a part of it.
Love to hear it — and I know you mentioned you’re in America now but you weren’t far from Manchester back in the day were you and even met your wife around here I believe?
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Yeah, well just down the road in Clitheroe, so just down the street — about 45 minutes away. I get a lot of stick from people sometimes because I live out in America now and sometimes I have a little bit of a dodgy twang in my accent and they can’t understand me but I’m used to it.
I remember when I was on Ultimate Fighter in 2005/06 they literally used to subtitle me, I swear to God. I’d speak to the producers afterwards and they’d say, ‘Mike, we love the energy and what you’re saying, but you’re talking too quick and you need to, like, overpronounce your words a little bit because a lot of people are struggling to understand you.’
Whenever I say fucking ‘tomato’ I have to slap myself because when I hear it out loud.
And lastly, what are some fond memories you have of Manchester and do you still find yourself up this way every now and again?
I mean, I still come out to Clitheroe because that’s where my kind of where my heart and soul is but I love Manchester. It’s one of the best cities in the world, the people are great — what a sense of humour — and some of my best mates in the world are here. I’m on the phone to Daz Morris, who runs Salford Muay Thai, every day and we’re always out in Manchester grabbing a bite, a beer or just knocking about.
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When I was growing up, if you ever wanted to go out for the night, go for a nice meal, go shopping or whatever, it was always Manchester. To us in those small towns, Manchester was like the big smart, proper city and even when I got to America I was happy to rep Manchester.
They used to ask where I was from but no one over there has ever heard of Clitheroe, but at least that gave them a frame of reference and that name means plenty over there.
If you want to hear more from the UK sporting legend in person, as well as partners in crime live on stage, there are still tickets left to see Michael Bisping and co. at ‘Tales From The Octagon 2’ on Saturday, 16 December.
It’s happening just down the road at the Apollo and, you heard him: it was brilliant last time out, so we expect nothing less with even more personalities on display.
The 11 best and most popular gyms in Manchester, ranked by price
Daisy Jackson
You do not need to wait for January to get your body moving again – there’s no time like the present.
The trick to sticking with your health kick is often to find the right routine for you, and when it comes to exercise, finding the gym that will make you feel supported as well as pushed physically is key.
There’s no shortage of brilliant gyms here in Manchester, from the do-it-yourself commercial gyms to the fitness facilities manned by highly-qualified trainers who will guide you every step of the way.
Whether you’re a fancy girl who needs fancy facilities to coax you into the gym, or you’d rather get your head down and save some cash, we’ve got you covered.
Here are 11 of the best to try in 2024 – and how much it’ll cost you.
Ultimate Performance – prices are bespoke and available on request
Ready to transform your body or lay the foundations for lifelong health, and feeling pretty serious about it?
Ultimate Performance is the gym in Manchester to join if you want to stick to your plan and achieve whatever goals you set yourself, from fat loss to muscle building to general health, with some of the world’s best personal trainers coaching from here.
Barry’s is the gym loved by all the famous LA-dwelling beautiful types, and first opened here in Manchester in 2018.
Workouts take place in the ‘red room’, where rows of benches, dumbbells and treadmills promise a total body workout.
It’s now a global phenomenon, with gyms everywhere from the USA to the UAE to Australia to Mexico.
It ain’t cheap though – memberships start at £125 per month, which gets you eight classes, or you can book a drop-in class for £20. The most expensive membership will set you back £308. Check out all the offers here.
Blok – £205/month for unlimited
Blok in Manchester has a mix of classes and is one of the city’s best gyms. Credit: Blok
This gym is genuinely very beautiful, taking over a corner of the historic Ducie Street Warehouse.
It’s another one with three different studios to choose from – you can do pilates and yoga, take on full-body strength-focused or boxing workouts, or try out barre and cardio exercises.
There are top-notch changing rooms for getting refreshed in afterwards too.
Unlimited membership is £205 a month, but if you’re happy to commit to a set number of classes there are cheaper packs available too. Check it out here.
You will not find a nicer or more supportive group of trainers than the ones who work at Form – you also won’t find any who take away your ability to walk up stairs quite so efficiently.
As well as one-to-one training, they offer their ‘reload’ programme with small groups training together at their New Bailey Street gym, and the best pilates and yoga classes in town at their Reset gym on Marble Street.
Form promises a longterm change to your life – this is no flash-in-the-pan fitness phase.
Memberships start from £168 a month and we promise you get a lot of bang for your buck. Find out more at formmcr.com.
F45 – £165/month
Credit: F45
First created in Australia, there are now more than 1,000 F45 studios all over the world, creating what it claims is the most innovative fitness gym on the planet.
Each 45 minute session blends cardio and HIIT-style workouts for ‘sweat-dripping, heart-pumping fun’.
The circuits in the Manchester gyms will kick your ass, in a good way.
It’s £165 a month if you commit to six months, otherwise you’re looking at £195 a month – check it out here.
Zeno Training Clubs – £99/month
Hero Training Club gym in Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupHero Training Club gym in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
With four different fitness studios to choose from, Zeno (formerly known as Hero) offers a little something for everyone.
You can seriously test your cardio in their spin studio or in the Athletic studio (where you can also take on boxing classes), push your strength in the Stronger studio (which are basically like small group PT sessions), or reset a bit in the Rejuvenate studio. There’s also an open gym upstairs.
Zeno has some of the best facilities in the city – seriously, there are more squat racks in here than in some of the biggest commercial gyms – and a bloody lovely group of trainers to guide your every move.
Memberships start from £99 a month, and there are class bundles available too. Find out more at herotrainingclubs.com.
TRIB3 – £79/month
Credit: TRIB3
This ‘next-level fitness studio’ follows a pretty similar modal to V1BE, but factors in assault bikes (ouch) and has classes with a more tailored focus.
There are three different TRIB3 classes to choose from – upper body and core, lower body, and full body – broken down into three zones of treadmill, resistance and intensity.
It’s proving to be a very popular option for Mancs.
Unlimited memberships are £79/month but there are loads of other options too. Find out more at trib3.co.uk.
V1BE – £59/month
Credit: V1BE
It’s all about the cardio at V1BE, Manchester’s boutique gym group that will literally display your heart rate on a giant screen for all to see.
Most workouts are spread between sprint sessions on the treadmills and weighted circuits on the floor, but they also have STR1KE classes that factor in some intense boxing drills.
You will be sweaty, you will get competitive with yourself, and you’ll definitely love it (once the hill sprints are over).
Membership starts from £59 a month (that’s for open gym access and six classes), or you can go all-in for £79 a month. Find out more here.
Nuffield Health – £51/month
Nuffield is one of Manchester’s biggest gyms, with its own pool
What makes Nuffield Health so extraordinary of all the gyms in Manchester is that is has a real life swimming pool, which is quite a luxury in a city centre as crammed as ours.
The gym has an army of treadmills and bikes, plus a functional fitness room, a free weights room, and several different studios.
There are also physiotherapists and personal trainers based here to help you build the healthiest body possible.
With a rapidly-growing number of gyms nationwide, it’s easy to see why JD Gyms are becoming more and more popular – and it’s got a lot to do with the price.
Their gym in Manchester city centre has more than 300 classes a month, a sauna, and literally hundreds of pieces of strength and cardio equipment.
There’s a large free weights zone, a sprint and sled track, bootcamps, boxing, and personal trainers.
Basic membership is £19.99 a month, which includes classes, but for £25 a month you can also get 10% off at JD Sports online and use any of their gyms nationwide – find out more here.
PureGym – £12.99/month
PureGym has several gyms around Manchester. Credit: PureGym
Oh well all know PureGym, let’s be honest.
As one of the country’s biggest gym groups, they’re famed for being cheap and practical, with 24-hour opening times.
Facilities are very good for the price and there are four PureGym gyms in Manchester city centre alone. You just have to get used to their weirdly futuristic beam-me-up-Scotty entrance vestibules.
Read more about all things sport in the North here.
Featured image: The Manc Group / Reset by Form / PureGym
Sport
All the Greater Manchester Team GB athletes to look out for at the Paris 2024 Paralympics
Danny Jones
The sporting action isn’t stopping any time soon; the Euros and Summer Games might have passed but now the Paris 2024 Paralympics are upon usand there are plenty more local athletes heading to the competition.
It’s been a fantastic month or so for Team GB and now our para-athletes are set to follow on from their success in the French capital for the next 12 days.
There are a total of 215 Paralympians from Great Britain and Northern Ireland and just over half a dozen of those are either from Greater Manchester or currently based here in the de-facto sporting capital of the UK.
Without further ado, here are the names of nearby that you need to get behind during this year’s Paralympics.
7 Greater Manchester Paralympians to look out for at Paris 2024
Dame Sarah Storey DBE – Stockport – Cycling
Where else to begin than with the most decorated athlete in Paralympic history?
Stopfordian Dame Sarah Storey is one of the most legendary athletes to ever compete in the Games, let alone represent Team GB. With 28 medals to her name, 17 of those being gold, she’s the most decorated Paralympian this nation has ever produced and has been an inspiration for more than three decades.
Having started out her career as a para-swimmer before going on to become a record-breaking cyclist as well – the event she will be sticking to this time around – there are many names that pop into your head before Storey. To say she’s written her own is putting it mildly. Simply iconic.
She received some long overdue local recognition at the start of the year.
Laurie Williams – Manchester – Wheelchair Basketball
Switching to wheelchair basketball, local lass Laurie Williams will be returning to ply her trade on the court once again a decade and a half since her senior debut back in 2009 and 12 years on from her first-ever Paralympics in London.
A busy mum and graduate of multiple degrees amidst becoming one of the stars of Team GB’s wheelchair basketball team, the 32-year-old British-Irish para-athlete has been on the scene for a while now and has also been a big advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
Competing alongside her partner, fellow basketball star and squad member, Robyn Love (the pair announced their engagement back in 2020), the Manchester-based couple have already seen early success, beating Spain in the opening round and we’re sure this is just the beginning.
Credit: AJMW (Wikimedia Commons)Credit: Hawkeye7 (Wiki Commons)When it comes to Manchester-based Paralympians, there isn’t a story sweeter than Williams and Love’s.
Greg Warburton – Leigh – Wheelchair Basketball
Speaking of teammates, another wheelchair basketball star from Greater Manchester native representing Team GB is Greg Warburton, born and bred over Wigan way in Leigh.
Quite literally one of if not the best wheelchair basketball player in the world after being named MVP at the 2018 World Championships and delighting the sport ever since making his debut at Rio 26, we’re very proud to say the 27-year-old is from around these parts.
From winning a maiden bronze medal at the age of 19 to being a role model for countless other hopefuls looking to join the discipline or become a para-athlete in general, he’s one of the shining lights at this year’s tournament.
Grace Harvey – University of Manchester – Para-swimmer
Next up is a rising star who may have been born over in Hertfordshire but has spent her formative sporting years right here in the city centre: 25-year-old Grace Harvey.
A university student currently doing her Master’s in Dental Public Health whilst balancing her training, the British Para-Swimming National Performance facility based over at the Aquatics Centre on Oxford Road has been her home for several years now, so as far as we’re concerned, she’s one of us.
Despite the challenges that come with her cerebral palsy diagnosis, Harvey notched a phenomenal hat-trick of medals in just her first World Championships in 2022, including a gold in the SB5 100m Breaststroke. She’s one of UoM Sport’s gems and we’re lucky to have her.
Ellie Challis – Manchester – Swimming
On to another honorary Mancunian, she might be Clacton-born but young Ellis Challis is now based in Manchester and after becoming Team GB‘s youngest Paralympic medalist at Tokyo 2020, you better believe we’re claiming her as our own.
Despite only being at the very start of her career and still only aged 20, Challis has been facing obstacles all her life – from her heartbeat stopping for a whole two minutes when she was just 16 months old to living limbless after falling ill with meningitis – but she has never let disability get in her way.
Having an unshakably positive attitude is one of the reasons she was already an inspiration to many even as a teenager, and after smashing her own World Record at the Championships in Madeira just a couple of years ago, she seems destined to keep manifesting her own greatness.
Our penultimate Paralympian is the equally promising Poppy Maskill, who hails from just down the road in Middlewich. She may be flying the flag for Cheshire but she’s also representing the incredible calibre of athletes being produced by the National Performance Centre here in Manchester.
Still only a teenager (19), Poppy is a multiple world champion para swimmer in the intellectual impairment category and looks set to continue her incredible start to sporting life at Paris 2024.
Following a stellar 12 months since bursting onto the scene back in 2022, the sky’s the limit for this girl.
Last but not least, we’ve got one more adopted Manc in the form of 0161-based but Bridgwater-born Cameron Vearncombe, a.k.a. ‘ParaCam’.
2024 has been this youngster’s best year to date, having picked up bronze for Team GB in both the 200m medley event and the 100m butterfly at the Paralympic trials back in April, not to mention a trio of medals at the Aberdeen World Series at the start of the season.
Also competing in the intellectual impairment category, Cameron told Great British Life, “I can get very anxious and nervous sometimes” but has lots of help around him from friends, family and coaches, adding: “It would be a dream to get on the podium.”
As far as Manchester Paralympians go, Cameron is certainly one to keep an eye on.