CLITHEROE'S Michael Bisping notched up his twentieth MMA victory on Saturday night in the co-main event at UFC 114.

And, after the unanimous decision victory against Dan Miller in Las Vegas, he vowed to be back in the middleweight title picture by the end of the year.

The dad-of-three was one victory away from a title shot last July when he suffered the first knockout of his career at the hands of Dan Henderson at UFC100.

But after this weekend's win the Brit, known as The Count, said he was back on the right track: “I feel now I’m starting to mature as a mixed martial artist.

“I’m coming into my own – skill wise and confidence wise.

“I want to keep building on this win and hopefully, towards the end of the year or early next year I’ll get a title shot.

“I want to be the first Englishman to win a title. I will be the first English world champion.”

Bisping, 31, got off to a sticky start in his tenth UFC fight when the cutman who greased his face got vaseline inside his right eye, blurring his vision.

But, after a cautious start to the first round, the Brit soon had his focus back and the New Jersey native returned to his corner bloodied while Bisping remained unmarked.

The second and third rounds saw the pair continue to trade strikes but as The Count's confidence visibly grew Miller had little answer to his stand-up.

And after the full three rounds the three judges scored the fight 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Bisping.

Following the decision he said: "He's tough. I built up my power. I hit him with some big right hands and he stood there and took it like a man.

“The gameplan was to do what I did but to finish the fight.

“I wanted to finish him but he was very tough - wanting to finish is one thing but doing it is another.

“I wanted the win bad and he hung in there.”

It was a win Bisping definitely needed after losing two out of three of his last fights.

But as he is quick to point out: “The only losses I have had in my career are to three former champions and legend of the sport.”

And as he continues on his own journey to the top of the UFC he has one more promise for the American fans who continue to boo him inside the Octagon: “You might not like me, but I'm gonna keep kicking ass."