Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping does not have any faith in Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya. At the very least, he was unimpressed by what he saw this weekend: Bisping took to his YouTube channel in the aftermath of Sean Strickland’s massive upset win over Adesanya at UFC 293 to explain why.
“What is next? Now granted, Jared Cannonier was there as the backup fighter.He does have a win over Sean Strickland but the No. 1 contender right now is Dricus Du Plessis and I gotta be honest, if Dricus Du Plessis was there that night, if he took that fight against ‘Izzy,’ he would have beaten that version of ‘Izzy’ as well.
Michael Bisping: Dricus Du Plessis Absolutely Batters “That Version” Of Israel Adesanya At UFC 293
Not taking away from Sean, not kicking ‘Izzy’ while he’s down. I’m just saying that wasn’t a good showing from ‘Izzy.’ Call it what you will.
Call it getting a little bit old, maybe starting to go on the decline, call it the work schedule was too much. Too many fights, too many training camps, too much pressure.
You could slice it a million ways but it doesn’t matter. Sean’s the man. Sean’s the champ. Sean’s in charge and Sean ain’t no b****. He’ll take on all comers.”
Once upon a time, Bisping enjoyed a major upset win to claim the middleweight championship. He stepped in on less than three weeks’ notice to face then-champ Luke Rockhold back in 2016. Bisping knocked Rockhold out in the first round, becoming the UK’s first ever UFC champion.
Bisping knows the power of an upset, but argued that Adesanya showcased none of the greatness that has thus far marked his stellar career. Bisping expressed his disappointment in the former champ’s underwhelming game plan.
“It was a disappointing event, it really was. For Israel Adesanya, and I’ll choose my words carefully, but he never really showed up. The man’s a superstar and he might be the victim of the Drake curse once again as we know.
‘Izzy’ never showed up, okay? He was too sure of his ability to counterstrike. He was too sure that his speed and the power that he possesses that he would be able to back up and boom, catch Strickland as he’s coming in.
Well, that wasn’t the case and when that isn’t working, you need to go to plan B or even plan C sometimes. Sean Strickland walked him down and was the better man start to finish.”
