Bisping: I'm stronger than ever

"I've been talking about being a top contender for a long time," said Bisping. "But the world title seems to always be one or two fights away. If I beat Brian Stann, I'll get the title shot. It's a tough fight. He hits hard. He will try to knock me out from the opening bell. I've been working with a new boxing coach. Technically, I'm faster than I've ever been. I'm stronger than I've ever been. I'm athletically way better. And I'm mentally more prepared as well."

 Bisping noted if anything, he was afraid he was peaking in camp too soon. He said he was ready to fight nearly three weeks ago. He said the last week of camp, usually the hardest and the one designed to round you into peak shape, he said was "complete overkill."

"My resting heartbeat is 34 beats per minute," he noted at two weeks out before the fight. "I'm overdoing it now. I'm constantly holding back. I could have made weight two weeks ago. I'm just holding myself back and getting it over with." He credits the move, more because of the higher level of training and coaches, for taking his game up a notch.

"I can live anywhere I want in the world as long as I show up the night of the fight in shape," he said. "I have different coaches, a different lifestyle, better training opportunities. I never realized how much better it would be. The level of professional training and just the every day experiences are better. This is a proper business and I'm maximizing my earnings potential. I'm making the most of my career, and getting everything I can out of it. That's not the reason I came, but that's what I've discovered. If I came earlier it would have been a good thing. But I'm happy with the timing."