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11 months ago: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 27: Michael Bisping of Great Britain celebrates his victory over Jorge Rivera of the USA in their middleweight bout part of at UFC 127 at Acer Arena on February 27, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

What’s this? Kind words for Michael Bisping?

The British bad boy, lambasted by fans for his behavior on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 14, as well as his saliva-to-air missile on Jorge Rivera at UFC 127 last year in Australia, has an unlikely fan in the middleweight division.

UFC on FOX 2 opponent Demian Maia.

The grappling wizard, who faces “The Count” on the network-televised special from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Jan. 28, 2012, has no reason to think bad of his fellow 185-pound contender.

From his interview with YourMMA.tv:

“I think he is a very good fighter, with a solid record, underrated in many senses and well-rounded. In theory, his ground game should be a little weaker than his striking and wrestling, but the people he has fought usually haven’t capitalized on that during his fights, and he has proven himself a lot! So I have to say he is very well rounded. I don’t have any problems at all with Bisping. He was always very respectful and polite whenever we met, so I have no reason to think bad of him. I think he is an intelligent guy and has helped our sport to grow a lot in the UK and Europe, and that can’t be denied.”

For Maia, the middleweight tilt represents an opportunity to re-establish his place among the division’s elite. After a five round dance with Anderson Silva at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, the decorated grappler has gone 3-1, with his lone defeat coming by way of close unanimous decision to fellow contender Mark Munoz.

A convincing win in “The Windy City” will surely “Count” towards getting him back “in the mix.”

For Bisping, it could be the final hurdle in the 185-pound title chase.

UFC on FOX 2, which will mark the promotion’s second appearance on network television, will be headlined by a light heavyweight number one contender bout, as Rashad Evans and Phil Davis return from injuries to battle for the right to fight Jon Jones.

Also penciled in for the FOX fight card is a middleweight title eliminator that pits former championship challengerChael Sonnen against streaking 185-pound wrecking ball Mark Munoz.

For the latest UFC on FOX 2 news and notes check out our comprehensive event archive right here.

Here it is, all 47 minutes of it.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today (Jan. 12, 2012) released the complete Lorenzo Fertitta interview, uncut and unedited, from ESPN’s recent ‘Outside the Lines’ segment that painted the ZUFFA boss in a negative light concerning the topic of fighter pay.

UFC President Dana White cautioned fans not to accept the ESPN piece at face value because his crew had their own footage that would not only exonerate the promotion’s co-owner, but also show audiences just how “dirty” the ESPN reporters were when footage was compared side-by-side.

From his Twitter:

“We are gonna blast these hacks!! I’m excited to smash and discredit ESPN and the piece they did!! So pumped! can’t stand the lying 2 faced media fucks!! So glad we did this one right cause ESPN can NOT be trusted. can’t stand the lying 2 faced media fucks!!”

Robbie Lawler, who earned a knockout victory over Adlan Amagov at Strikeforce: “Rockhold vs. Jardine” tonight (Sat., Jan. 7, 2012) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Strikeforce: “Rockhold vs. Jardine” event live on Showtime tonight (Sat., Jan. 7, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada, featured a middleweight bout that was supposed to provide plenty of fireworks for fans at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Indeed, Robbie Lawler was back in action against Adlan Amagov, two strikers who were likely to stand and trade until one of them fell down.

That’s not exactly what happened, at least not at first, but eventually Lawler landed what looked to be a spectacular flying knee that garnered him yet another first round knockout win.

After all the grappling earlier in the night, this was a welcome finish, no doubt.

To the shock and dismay of many, Amagov opened the bout ducking underneath Lawler’s shots and grabbing a takedown. He worked a guillotine once he got Robbie to the floor but unfortunately, he used it to land an illegal knee to a downed opponent.

Lawler took a minute to compose himself but eventually got back in the fight.

And, just a few seconds later, launched a flying — legal — knee of his own and it landed just enough to put Amagov down. Follow up punches to the side of the head was enough to force a stoppage.

“Ruthless” Robbie is back with another first round knockout win. Always fun.