UFC title defence will be a family affair for Clitheroe's Michael Bisping

For the first time in years all six brothers and sisters, as well as mum and dad, will be in the same place.

The cause that has brought them all together is Michael Bisping’s first defence of his world middleweight championship at UFC 204, against Dan Henderson.

The 37-year-old, who hails from Clitheroe but now lives in Orange County, California, is over the moon that his first defence of the belt he won at UFC 199 against Luke Rockhold is taking place so close to his home town.

This week he has been back to Clitheroe to remember where his journey began, and he wants to celebrate with his friends and family if he retains his belt.

“There’s a lot of people coming over, the Clitheroe massive will be there, which I’m very proud of,” he said.

“My mum, my dad, all my six brothers and sisters will be in attendance, it will be the first time in years that all the Bisping family have been in the same place together. It will be a special moment.

“I’d love, fingers crossed, to get the job done and have all my family in the Octagon afterwards. That would be an amazing moment for me.

“It will be nice to go back to Clitheroe to see my mum, see some old faces, hang out with my dad for a bit and remind myself of how this all started and where I’ve come from.”

Bisping’s fight won’t take place until 5am in the morning to satisfy the huge pay-per-view demand in the United States.

But when the hometown favourite takes to the Octagon the atmosphere will have been ramped up, and Bisping can’t wait to experience it.

“When I walk out to a sold out arena the energy is going to be ridiculous,” he said.

“The first time I walked out in Manchester I was so taken aback by the support and the roar I sprinted to the ring like a mad man, I was so high on adrenalin, I’ve learnt from that.

“A lot of my friends are going to go out for dinner, then they’re going to have a few drinks and then they’re going to go to the arena.

“There’s going to be some sore heads on Sunday morning, that’s for sure.”

Bisping has remained on Californian time this week, spending the small hours watching ‘rubbish TV’ in his hotel room while the rest of the city sleeps.

And if he does successfully defend his belt, how does he plan to celebrate given the late start?

“An after party at 6am is going to be a tricky one. I’ll be having a nice breakfast somewhere,” he said.

Never afraid to speak his mind, and never dodging a question, Bisping is a perfect champion for UFC, especially for an ever-growing British audience.

Having dazzled fans with an open workout on Wednesday night, he spent an hour talking to the press on Thursday on subjects ranging from his home town, drugs in the sport, a fledgling movie career and why his fellow champions need to keep their feet on the ground.

Having labelled fighters caught taking drugs as ‘scumbags who should be ashamed of themselves’, Bisping then explained why his middleweight title hadn’t changed him.

“I’m a very normal guy with a very normal background. Just because I won a fight it doesn’t make me better than anyone else,” he said.

“You see some of these champions on the UFC they walk around with an elevated feeling of self worth, which makes me sick a little bit. Let’s keep it in perspective, we’re fighters, we’re not curing cancer.”

Bisping is Britain’s first UFC world champion, and while he doesn’t see himself as the poster boy of the sport in this country, he is happy to see it growing on these shores.

“There’s a lot of great UK talent on the card,” he said. “It’s good to see. The sport of MMA is getting bigger and bigger all the time in this country. It’s a shame it has taken so long to catch on, but people are interested.”

One day soon UFC will have to sustain its growth in Britain without Bisping, and the man himself accepts the end is approaching.

“You can’t do this forever.” he said.

“I’ve had a great career thus far. I want to hang on to the belt for a few fights and have a few defences, and when I’ve done that I’ll call it a day.

“It scares me. What do you do after? I’ve dedicated my life to this. I could have been a doctor or a lawyer, I’ve got a good head on my shoulders, but I dedicated my life to this, so when it’s done, what do you do? That’s the tough one.”

But it’s not done just yet, and in the early hours of Sunday morning Bisping will attempt to write another chapter in his remarkable journey.

An aspiring movie star, the hard man from the Ribble Valley could even one day end up playing himself in a Hollywood biopic of his incredible career.