INGLEWOOD, California — Michael Bisping was supposed to just be happy to be there.
The veteran from Manchester, England, got a short-notice shot at Luke Rockhold’s UFC middleweight title when former champion Chris Weidman bowed out because of injury two weeks ago.
Few expected the 37-year-old to actually win, but that he did, finishing Rockhold with a stunning first-round knockout at UFC 199 in UFC’s first event at the fabled Forum.
“I want to be an (expletive), but I gotta be humble,” Bisping (29-7) said. “I have always been a fighter and never stopped believing in myself.”
Two big lefts to the jaw followed by a flurry of shots after Rockhold hit the mat put an end to the fight at 3:36.
Rockhold (15-3), of Santa Cruz, Calif., made no excuses after having a five-fight win streak snapped.
“What can I say? Michael did the job,” said Rockhold, who won their previous meeting in 2014. “I maybe took it for granted.”
In the co-feature bout, UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (22-1) of San Diego got the best of longtime rival Urijah Faber (33-10) of Sacramento, Calif., and claimed victory in their trilogy fight.
A big right hand in the second round turned the fight in Cruz’s favor, and he used an elusive, stick-and-move style from there as he cruised to a unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46.
The victory gave Cruz a 2-1 edge in their rivalry. Faber handed Cruz his only career loss via first-round submission in 2007; Cruz won a unanimous decision in 2011.
Max Holloway (16-3) of Hawaii stamped his place as the next big thing at featherweight with a one-sided win over Ricardo Lamas (16-5) of Chicago. Holloway’s fast-paced striking was too much for Lamas to handle, and Holloway earned a unanimous decision with 30-27 scores across the board.
That is Holloway”s ninth straight win since a 2013 decision loss to current featherweight champion Conor McGregor.
MMA legend Dan Henderson of Temecula, Calif., produced a moment that will be long remembered. With the crowd rooting him on, Henderson (32-14), who will be 46 in August, knocked out Cuba’s Hector Lombard (34-6-1, 2 NC) at 1:27 of the second round in their middleweight fight.
Henderson, a former Olympic wrestler who made his UFC debut at UFC 17, hinted this could be the end of his two-decade career.
“I’m not sure what happens after this fight. We’ll see what happens,” Henderson (32-14) said, who won for the second time in his last three fights. “That may have been the last one of my career.”
Dustin Poirier of Lafayette, La., made Bobby Green of Fontana, Calif., pay for trash talking in their lightweight main card opener. Green (23-7) dropped his hands and taunted Poirier, which was answered with a huge left hand. Poirier dominated the rest of the way and won via TKO at 2:53 of the opening round.
In a middleweight undercard bout, Muhammad Ali’s son-in-law, Kevin Casey (16-4-1) of Hawthorne, Calif., fought to a split draw against Elvis Mutapcic of Indiana via scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 28-28.
“It’s a lot to go through before a fight,” Casey said of Ali’s passing on Friday. “Thank you guys for the support. God bless my family.”
Ali fought once at the Forum, defeating Ken Norton in a rematch on Sept. 10, 1973.