Michael Bisping is confident he’d dethrone Israel Adesanya if he was still fighting.
The Englishman is the former UFC middleweight champion where he defended the belt once against Dan Henderson. He would go on to lose the strap to Georges St-Pierre. But Bisping, who is a fan of Adesanya thinks his style matches up well against his.
“Listen, and here’s the real thing, if I was still fighting, I’d take that belt off him [Israel Adesanya] pretty easily, but I’m not,” Bisping said on MMA Tonight on Sirius XM (via BJPENN.com). “So, listen, I like Adesanya, I’m a massive fan of the guy. He’s a great personality, he’s a great fighter and I’m a fan of Yoel as well. It’s going to be a good one.”
So far, no one has been able to beat Adesanya. He is a perfect 18-0 as a pro including being 7-0 inside the Octagon. Last time out, he had a second-round KO win over Robert Whittaker to win the undisputed belt. Before that, he won the interim title in 2019’s Fight of the Year against Kelvin Gastelum.
In the main event of UFC 248, “The Last Stylebender” is set for his title defense when he battles Yoel Romero. It is an interesting scrap where the champ is a sizeable favorite. But, the challenger has the wrestling advantage and legit one-punch knockout power.
For Bisping, he believes Adesanya will defend his title on Saturday.
“Stylebender on the flip side, he’s got the height, the reach, the range, the diversity of strikes, he’s got excellent footwork, he does pivot off well,” Bisping said. “I don’t know who is going to win but if I had to put money on this, I’d definitely lean towards Israel Adesanya.”
Do you agree with Michael Bisping that he’d take the belt off Israel Adesanya pretty easily?