Michael Bisping is itching for a title shot. He’s been in the UFC for over six years and last Saturday, at UFC 152 in Toronto, he staked his claim by defeating dangerous middleweight Brian Stann.
However, considering the less than emphatic win, it’s hard to see how Bisping would stand a chance at defeating incumbent 185-pound champion Anderson Silva.
He ground out a win over three rounds by wearing down Stann, whose takedown defense, although competent in the early parts of the match, faded as the fight wore on. It’s difficult to imagine Silva would suffer the same fate.
In his rematch against Chael Sonnen, the Brazilian showed a greatly improved grappling skill set. And if Sonnen struggled in that aspect of the match, Bisping is hardly likely to do better.
And while Bisping is an accomplished striker, it’s hard to imagine him faring well against the rangy, precision striking of Silva.
After all, Bisping couldn’t exactly dominate Stann on his feet either.
Perhaps judging the Brit from just this one fight is a little unfair. However, even if you look at his most recent successes, it’s hard to see one performance which you could consider good enough to beat Silva.
Since his loss to Wanderlei Silva at UFC 110, his last six matches have seen him go to decision four times.
He made a meal of Jason Miller, who he should have beaten much more convincingly, only managing to finish him in the third round, and he failed to convince the judges of his performance against Chael Sonnen in their match at the beginning of the year.
None of this gives much hope that if he was squared off against Silva, he would fare any better than any of the champion’s other recent opponents.
Khurram Aziz is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @khurramaziz1981
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