There has been a difference in opinion between Miesha Tate and Michael Bisping, regarding the corner advice given to Aspen Ladd in her UFC Vegas 40 main event. Now the two former champions went head to head to debate the issue.
The aggressive nature of Ladd’s corner advice during her fight with Norma Dumont has caused controversy. With coach Jim West scolding her sternly, feelings have been split between those who feel like he was being too aggressive and unhelpful, and others who think that he was just trying to get the best out of his fighter.
Tate has been vocal about her feelings on the matter, stating that she falls in the group of people who think he could have had more tact while dealing with his fighter. On the other hand Bisping has fallen into the other category, defending the actions of West, which has led to a bit of a debate between the two former UFC champions.
"Please tell me what you're doing."
"Sit on your ****!"
Listen in on what was said by Aspen Ladd's corner during her loss to Norma Dumont at #UFCVegas40.
What did you make of it? pic.twitter.com/V9dQZSWoHK
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) October 17, 2021
Miesha Tate and Michael Bisping Debate
Bisping hopped on Tate’s SirusXM radio show, where the two discussed their difference in opinion, regarding this situation. It is safe to say that both of them still strongly feel the same, with Miesha saying that she felt like Ladd was almost brought to tears.
“This is not a male/female thing, this is a relationship thing. When I saw her eyes go to the ground, when I saw her confidence move, when I saw her body language, her stepping away from him, I saw her retracting, you watch the video… you kind of see her change, and I don’t think he brought out the confidence in her,” Tate said.
“She almost looked like she was going to cry. She looked like my three year old if I was scolding her for coloring on the wall.”
Even with that in mind, Michael Bisping still somewhat disagreed with Miesha Tate. Looking at it from his perspective, he agreed that West likely did not help the situation, but says that he would want his coach to have a similar reaction if he was in the same situation, having badly missed weight the week prior, then not show up in this fight.
“You’re absolutely right Miesha, and I did feel for her, and it is a terrible situation. I’m sure he wasn’t helping, because on top of that, on top of the coach talking to her the way that he did, she’s actually got to go back out there in another 20 seconds, and go up against a person who, let’s be honest, she was outmatched. Norma Dumont was the better fighter on the night,” Bisping said.
“(Ladd) wasn’t necessarily getting her ass kicked because there wasn’t much happening, but she’s having this frustrating time, she’s losing this fight that obviously means a lot to her, and then she’s going to get reprimanded by her cornerman on live TV. So I totally get it, I do, but on the flip side also, this is not fun and games. If you can go out there and kick everybody’s ass, great, amazing. But there’s going to be struggles, and there’s going to be hardships, and there’s going to be conversations that you don’t want to hear.
“When the coach goes on a journey like that for two months, and gives up their time and sacrifices their energy, I know Jason Parillo would have said to me ‘Mike, what the eff? What are you doing? Is this what we’ve flown to the other side of the world for? To not fight, to not show up, to not go for it, to let your title aspirations go out the window? You just missed weight a few weeks ago and now you’re going to show up in the main event and not fight? Do you want to continuing having a job? Do you want to lose everything you’ve worked so hard for, because if you continue like this, then maybe you’re not going to be fighting in the UFC anymore. Maybe you’re going to be looking for a job on Monday morning,'” Bisping added.
“Maybe the cornerman’s thinking that. I don’t know if he was, but that’s what I would’ve been thinking if I was her cornerman.”
"There's going to be conversations that you don't want to hear."
🎙️ Michael Bisping (@bisping) joins @MieshaTate & @ReneePaquette to break down the controversy surrounding Aspen Ladd's corner at #UFCVegas40
⬇️FULL CONVERSATION⬇️https://t.co/jl9PSkytbq pic.twitter.com/2uw67JvIiD
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) October 19, 2021
This is an interesting debate between Michael Bisping and Miesha Tate. Ultimately all that matters is how Aspen Ladd felt about the situation, and whether she feels like her coach was too aggressive.
