The mixed martial arts (MMA) career of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has come to a close.

The Count has had a tremendous run through the grueling sport of MMA, and has left fans with some amazing memories along the way.

Bisping was a UFC middleweight champion, shared the Octagon with some of the greatest of all time, and will forever be remembered as one of the pioneers of the sport.

He officially announced his retirement from fighting earlier this week on his podcast, Believe You Me. Now, Bisping will enjoy retirement before likely going into the UFC Hall Of Fame very soon.

With Bisping just calling it a career earlier this week, we've decided to compile a list of some of the Englishmen's best moments from his legendary career.

With that being said, lets look at the five greatest moments of Michael Bisping's UFC career.

5. Winning TUF

Like many, Bisping earned his UFC roster spot by competing in and winning a season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). It was the show's third season and was coached by two MMA legends - Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock.

Despite competing at 185 pounds for most of his career, Bisping won the show competing as a light heavyweight. The Team Ortiz product defeated Josh Haynes via second round TKO in 2006 to win the show.

It was Bisping's first official fight under the UFC banner, and the beginning of a career with the promotion that lasted well over a decade.

4. Avenging loss to Dan Henderson

One of the most grueling moments in Bisping's career took place at UFC 100 back in 2009. The Englishman shared the Octagon with his longtime rival Dan Henderson.

As most MMA fans know, Henderson is an amazing grappler who can shut your lights out by landing just one of his signature "H-Bombs." That's exactly what happened against Bisping.

Bisping circled right into a huge overhand from Henderson that shut the former TUF winner's lights out, creating one of the most vicious knockouts in MMA history.

Fast-forward seven years later and Bisping found himself defending his newly-acquired middleweight title against Henderson in his backyard of Manchester, England.

Despite being knocked down by a few H-Bombs, Bisping was able to out-score Henderson throughout five rounds and take home a unanimous decision victory over his rival.

This was a huge moment for Bisping's career. Not only did he successfully defend his title in front of his native crowd, but he also avenged one of the darkest moments of his MMA career in the process.

3. Comeback against Denis Kang

Just months after suffering his grueling knockout loss to Henderson in 2009, Bisping got right back into the cage against Denis Kang. Kang, a formidable Canadian known for his striking, nearly finished Bisping in the first round.

After surviving the onslaught, Bisping came back in the second and was able to finish Kang late in the round. It was one of the most amazing comebacks Bisping has ever pulled off in his fighting career.

2. Besting Anderson Silva

In his final fight before challenging for the UFC middleweight title for the first time in his career, Michael Bisping stepped into the cage with, arguably, the greatest fighter in MMA history - Anderson Silva.

Bisping was actually able to showcase some magnificent striking against The Spider and actually knocked him down at one point. He also survived a nasty flying knee at the end of a round that could've very nearly stopped the fight.

Regardless, Bisping was able to out-strike the Brazilian for five rounds of fighting and pick up the biggest win of his career at the time. What followed, however, would go down as the greatest moment in his career by a long shot........

1. Shocking UFC middleweight title win

After 10 years with the UFC, Michael Bisping finally got the call to compete for a middleweight title. Originally, the UFC 199 pay-per-view (PPV) event was scheduled to be a UFC middleweight title fight between champion Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman. 

This would've been a rematch from Rockhold ending Weidman's undefeated streak at UFC 194 to capture the 185-pound crown. Instead, Bisping would step in to take on the Californian after Weidman suffered an injury.

Leading up to the fight Rockhold made it well known that he wasn't respecting what the Englishman brought to the table, and was expecting an easy victory. 

Instead, Bisping shocked the MMA world when he landed a beautiful combination that wobbled Rockhold and planted him on his rear end. The follow up ground-and-pound would force the action to stop and earn Bisping the first and only UFC title win of his career.

This was an amazing moment for MMA fans and a feather in the cap of Bisping who had been working for this moment for his entire career. 

There's no doubt Bisping will ever forget this moment, and the amazing legend of a career that was Michael Bisping's will live on in infamy. 

What are your thoughts on our list of Michael Bisping's five greatest moments of his MMA career? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!