“Had Xmas dinner by myself” – UFC legend Michael Bisping shares heartbreaking story of lonely debut after UFC 290 fighter faces same tale

Val Woodburn pulled up to the international fight week without his teammates due to the short notice fight

“Had Xmas dinner by myself” – UFC legend Michael Bisping shares heartbreaking story of lonely debut after UFC 290 fighter faces same tale

Michael Bisping sympathizes with Val Woodburn ( Image via : MMA Fighting/ESPN)

One of UFC’s highly touted prospects Bo Nickal, completely flat-lined his opponent Val Woodburn at UFC 290. While Nickal managed to walk away with his undefeated record, things did not work out quite well for ‘The Animal.’ On top of that, he also arrived at the fight without any of his teammates. While fans felt bad for Woodburn UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping also sympathized with ‘The Animal.’

Val Woodburn took a huge risk by putting his undefeated record on the line at such short notice. His opponent was one of the most feared prospects who might even manage to make ranked opponents doubt their skills. However, Woodburn took the fight without a full training camp and on 4 days’ notice to face the wrestling phenom.

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One of the many downsides of taking the short-notice fight was that Woodburn had to arrive without his team. The Animal took to Twitter and uploaded his whole journey alone to UFC 290. While fans were sad looking at what Woodburn had to endure, he also received sympathy from a former UFC champion. After witnessing Val’s journey alone to the venue Michael Bisping shared his story of when he was in the same boat.

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“My first ufc fight, ufc 66 in Las Vegas I flew out alone. No team or cornermen showed up, had Xmas dinner by myself at the palca station buffet then went and got a first-round TKO,” shared Bisping. While Bisping was seemingly in the same boat he managed to score a win. However, Woodburn also did not show up completely alone as he was accompanied by middleweight fighter Chris Curtis.

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Val Woodburn pulls up to UFC 290 with middleweight fighter Chris Curtis

Val Woodburn pulls up to UFC 290 with Chris Curtis
Val Woodburn pulls up to UFC 290 with Chris Curtis ( Image via : ESPN/MMA Junkie)

UFC middleweight fighter Val Woodburn showed up for his debut fight at UFC 290 alone without his team. The Animal took the fight on short notice against one of UFC’s highly touted prospect Bo Nickal. One of the many downsides of taking the short notice fight was Woodburn had to reach the venue without any of his teammates or corner men.

While ‘The Anima’l was without his teammates for his debut he was accompanied by a UFC fighter. Middleweight contestant Chris Curtis came in clutch and supported Val Woodburn for the event. He surprised everyone by arriving with Curtis and some of his teammates blasting music on a boombox. While it was not his whole camp, Woodburn highly appreciated what he had.

Regardless, The Animal was knocked out under 40 seconds of the first round. While Bo Nickal does deserve all the credit for his win, the severe short notice played a huge factor. Woodburn was supposed to make his debut on Dana White’s Contender Series. However, he took a huge risk and stepped up to save Nickal’s fight. During the post-fight interview, Woodburn displayed class and stated that his loss was mandatory.

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