Bisping to coach in T.U.F. Season 9

It was a natural fit, with the announcement that the ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" would pit the U.S. vs. the U.K., that British fighter Michael "The Count" Bisping would get the call to be the coach of the England based team.

Now that the decision has been made, Bisping is already gearing up for Jan. 17 when he will watch Rich Franklin battle Dan Henderson for the other coaching spot on the show. Bisping is excited to get back to the place that helped build his own career and put the next batch of Ultimate Fighters on the right track.

"When I found out I was going to be a coach, I was very excited. I know I'm going to have a good time. I'm going to enjoy it," Bisping said in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly Radio. "I think it's going to help me out as a fighter. I enjoy coaching. It's going to help my career, so everything's good. I can't see any negative aspects to it."

While Bisping is genuinely excited to get the chance to coach the U.K. team, he has no plans of taking it easy on his home country fighters.

"I'm definitely planning on being a tough coach to be honest. I'm going to train these guys the way I train for a fight. The people are going to see I don't mess around. It's all business when I train for a fight, and that's the way I'm going to train these guys," he stated. "If anyone's coming on the show just to get a bit of airtime and be on TV, then they might as well not bother turning up. Because there's going to be a lot of six o'clock in the morning runs, and just a lot of hard work. Blood, sweat and tears, definitely."

During his appearance on the show, Bisping also disclosed the coaching staff that will accompany him to the show to help bring along the new fighters that will make up the team.

"It was pretty much a no brainer to be honest. The Wolfslair coaches do a fantastic job with me, so you know I've got to pay homage to the Wolfslair, and I'm respecting my coaches," he said.

"So on the grappling side of things I'll be bringing in Mario Sukata, who is my jiu-jitsu and my wrestling coach. Fantastic coach, he's a bit of a legend in Brazil, so he'll be doing that side of things, and Dave Jackson, who's a Thai boxing coach, he'll be coming out there and helping out with the striking side of things."

The former Ultimate Fighter season 3 winner also plans on inviting some of the fighters from around the United States to come in and help out as well.

"I've got a lot of friends out in the States who might be stopping by from time to time, coming in and offering their experiences," Bisping commented.

While no date has been set for the newest season of The Ultimate Fighter to debut, Bisping is expecting the filming to begin just after Rich Franklin fights Dan Henderson on Jan. 17 in Dublin.

"I haven't actually got an exact day of when I'll be traveling, but I know it's around the end of January," Bisping said. "So Jan. 17 in Dublin, (then) I'll probably go home, pack some things, throw some stuff in the suitcase, and then yeah probably straight in out to Vegas, probably within a week."