What a year it's been for the UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

Having defeated Anderson Silva in February in London, Bisping went on to defeat Luke Rockhold for the UFC title at UFC 199 in June, and then earlier this month he became the first man to successfully defend a UFC title in his own backyard in Manchester, England.

Fighter of the Year 2016?

Despite having what many would call a 'Fighter of the Year' worthy 2016, Bisping still has his critics and they largely come up from the four men just behind him who are currently vying for the next opportunity to face the Brit.

"People like to talk s***," Bisping told Alex Rea of Sport360. "They can say whatever they want because at the end of the day I am the middleweight champion of the world. I have the most wins in UFC history, the most wins in middleweight history and in the history of any division I've landed the most strikes.

"Nearly every fight I've had has been a main event or a co-main event so I don't feel the need to sell myself. (Chris) Weidman can say it's embarrassing that I'm the champion, but I knocked out the guy [Rockhold] who dominated him. There are detractors, there always are, but I'm sitting here a very happy man. I love it, and I love that they're so annoyed. It puts a big smile on my face."

What changed?

Having been involved in many No. 1 contender eliminators over the past few years and always fallen at last hurdle, many would say Bisping's run this year was even more remarkable.

When asked what he thought had changed, the current UFC middleweight champion pointed to a number of factors all coming together at the same time.

"Nothing's changed about me, but people can't take steroids these days, so that's certainly helped," Bisping said. "Of course, my boxing coach Jason Parillo has done a great job. Mentally, I'm much better, I'm more mature mentally these days, and I'm not as much of an emotional wreck as what I used to be.

"Obviously, fighting is a physical sport, but the mind controls everything the body does and if the mind is not right then you won't perform. Mentally, I'm at my peak."

Just a few more fights

After speaking about his triumphant return to Manchester earlier this year and how much that meant to him, the former "The Ultimate Fighter" winner then spoke about retirement and hinted that it might now be too far off.

"It doesn't get any better than that for me really," Bisping said of his UFC 204 victory over Dan Henderson. "I was the first ever British champion to then defend it in England, in Manchester, just down the road from where I'm from with all my family there, my brothers, my sisters, my mum, and my dad, all my old childhood friends, sold out in six minutes, defending the belt in an epic fight...it doesn't get any better than that.

"I could retire now a very, very happy man. Financially, I'm going to take a few more fights, but I've certainly achieved way more than I thought I ever would do and I've achieved every goal I could set."

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