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Gareth A Davies. Matt Brant 28 February 2016 1:14pm GMT Ten years ago Michael Bisping was the poster boy of MMA, as the UFC cut swathes through Europe sucking in millions of new aficionados.

On Saturday night in London 'The Count' fought his way into the annals of folklore in the sport he bestrides, one of its compelling characters and stories. Bisping finished

victorious after a wild five-round affair against legendary figure Anderson Silva at London’s O2 Arena. Ten years to fulfill a dream. Silva may no longer hold the UFC middleweight belt, but

this will have been a sweet feeling for the Lancastrian. In what must have been one of the most bizarre fights in UFC history, Michael Bisping earned a hard-fought unanimous decision victory

over Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC Fight Night 84 on Saturday night. All three judges scored the contest 48-47 in favour of Bisping, who firmly cements his status as a bona fide

title contender having now won three in a row. Bisping started well, settling into a rhythm early to dictate the pace of the fight with quick combinations and fleet-footed movement. Silva

looked tentative early on, and was dropped by a one-two combination at the end of the first round, then once more towards the end of the second, as Bisping landed with a pair of left hooks

that sent Silva crashing to the canvas. “I don’t know, I've wanted this fight my entire life," Bisping said. "I worship this guy. He's the greatest martial artist of all

time. That's why I'm so emotional. This has been a lifelong quest. The respect I have for Silva, it inspired me. When I started, I was a young, cocky kid saying things I regret.

The whole time, I was looking at him saying, 'I want to be like that.’” Events took a dramatic twist at the end of the third stanza, as Silva landed a flying-knee to drop Bisping just

as the bell sounded to close the round. The blow landed as Bisping – who momentarily had a lapse in concentration - was gesticulating at referee Herb Dean to indicate that his mouthpiece had

fallen out. Wild scenes ensued. Silva immediately leapt to the top of the cage to celebrate, however referee Herb Dean informed both middleweights that he hadn’t in fact waved off the bout,

and promptly instructed both fighters to return to their corners to the delight of those in attendance at the O2. Bisping was saved. > Judges cards from @bisping vs @SpiderAnderson 

#ufclondon > pic.twitter.com/TXHoYoU7X4 > — Gareth A Davies (@GarethADaviesDT) February 28, 2016 “It’s about heart. It takes a certain mindset to get in there and do this. It’s about

how much you want it, and I wanted this fight, I really did. This was everything to me. You know, I guess it was that that got me through those moments” explained Bisping. Silva failed to

capitalize on his success in the third round, taking much of the fourth round off which allowed Bisping to regain his senses. Silva began to step up the theatrics - of which he’d shown

glimpses in rounds previous – this time, waving his opponent on as played possum along the cage. Bisping was wise to Silva’s antics however and started to circle away, out of danger; he

wasn’t about to fall prey to The Spider on this occasion. The fifth and final round was arguably Silva’s best, having landed a front kick to the face that wobbled Bisping. Potentially, Silva

could’ve moved in to finish the fight at that moment, but fatigue set in, allowing a bloody and battered Michael Bisping just enough time to recover and rally for the decision. “I’m feeling

good, this is a fight that I’ve wanted for a long time. Going into the fight, there were things that were said, but I have the utmost respect for Anderson Silva, this is the greatest

fighter of all time. For me this was a personal challenge, it really was. This is by far the biggest win of my career” And the biggest victory for a British fighter in UFC history. ---- In

the first bout on the main card, bantamweight Brad Pickett scored a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over Francisco Rivera in what was a hugely entertaining back-and-forth contest.

Pickett snaps a three-fight losing skid while Rivera has now lost two straight. “I’m emotional – I’m all over the place,” Pickett said. “Walking out there was great, but walking back was

better. I don’t do this sport just to make up the numbers. I want to be someone within the sport, and if I felt I couldn’t compete – not just compete at the level, but win at this level –

then I would hang my gloves up tonight. So I’m happy I got the win. “My demons were I didn’t matter who I was facing that night, It could gave been the No.1 in the world to some guy on the

street, I just needed to get the win, so I went in with that in mind. I was coming off a few losses, so I was fighting for my job in there, in my eyes. Even if I had have lost tonight and

they said they would have kept me, I probably would have ended up retiring because I’m not in this sport just to make up the numbers.” explained Pickett at the post-fight press conference.