British UFC star Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping stuns Luke Rockhold to win the middleweight title in Los Angeles

THEY said he didn’t have a chance, but Michael Bisping overturned the odds, shocked the world and knocked out Luke Rockhold to become the undisputed UFC middleweight champion.

Bisping stepped into the Octagon on just two and a half weeks’ notice, with bookies rating him a 7/1 underdog.

But the Brit made a mockery of the pre-fight odds with a spectacular knockout finish of the confident champion to complete his mission and fulfil what he insisted pre-fight was his destiny.

Bisping started the contest tentatively, but in the middle of the opening round he exploded on the champion, flooring him with a huge left hand, then finishing him with a big left on the deck to end Rockhold’s title run on his very first defence.

And after 26 fights and a decade in the Octagon, Bisping completed the mission he set out to finish when he joined the UFC as a young hopeful on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter a decade ago.

Bisping’s win capped off a quite incredible night of fights at The Forum in Los Angeles, with a stacked card delivering a host of thrilling fights and remarkable finishes.

And after all the incredible action that preceded the main event, few expected Bisping to overcome Rockhold, who stepped into the Octagon as the number three pound-for-pound athlete in the world.

But two huge shots from the Brit sent Rockhold to the canvas and ripped the title from his grasp on a night that British MMA fans may never forget.

Because Great Britain now has a UFC world champion to call its own - and nobody deserved it more than Michael Bisping.