Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping weighed in on the UFC 281 main event between current champion Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.
Adesanya and Pereira have a backstory. Pereira holds two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing, including by knockout in their second match, but Bisping doesn’t think that be a factor on Saturday.
“Everybody knows that Pereira beat Adesanya twice. Once by decision and once by knockout. So obviously coming into this one with both guys being predominantly kickboxers the writing on the wall seems to be Israel Adesanya is going to get beaten. He is gonna get knocked out, but I’m going to give you five reasons why that’s not the case,” Bisping said on his YouTube Channel.
Reason 1: This is an MMA fight
“The kickboxing fights don’t mean anything. No, I’m not talking about the obvious. This is clearly a mixed martial arts contest with a lot of different avenues of attack,” Bisping said.
“Adesanya is not the type of guy to second guess himself, to let negative thoughts mess with his performance. He won’t go into this one thinking, ‘wow, this guy has beaten me twice before. Oh my God.’ No. That’s not going to be the case. He’s supremely confident.”
An area that Bisping believes Adesanya will have an advantage is his speed. He thinks the champion will be faster than the challenger.
Reason 2: Speed
“If Alex Pereira has the advantage in one-punch knockout power then you can bet your bottom dollar Izzy has the advantage in speed,” Bisping said. “The old adage says, speed kills. It is such a valuable weapon to have. He’s as good as anyone inside the octagon about controlling distance and controlling range … He is so fast. His reflexes are absolutely ridiculous.”
Along with an advantage in speed, Bisping believes Adesanya’s experience will be a factor at Madison Square Garden. After all, Pereira has only had seven mixed martial arts fights.
Reason 3: Experience
“Experience is such a valuable thing to have. It can not be bought. It has to be eared,” said the former titleholder. “The man has been the UFC champion for over three years … Izzy had already made three UFC title defenses by the time Alex, who is three years older, had his first fight.”
Part of experience is how a fighter approaches a fight and their mentality in it, knowing when to pour it on and when to be patient.
Reason 4: Patience
“It kind of relates to experience, but it comes down to patience. Izzy knows who he is. He knows the life that he’s built. He’s a very, very famous person all the world over with millions of dollars in the bank, massive endorsement deals with huge companies. All of this comes from the fact that he’s the champ. With all that experience, you acquire patience,” said Bisping.
“Izzy is very, very patient, and that’s what he’s going to show in this fight because Pereira – The best thing for Pereira, make no mistake, is for Izzy to engage in a brawl,” continued Bisping. “Patience is going to be key.”
Reason 5: The X-factor
“Izzy wants to beat this man, but he’s not going to go out there absolutely reckless, throw down in a brawl, get relentless and give the fans what they want to see. He said getting the win back over Pereira, that means more to him than anything. Stepping in there, of course that belt is on the line, but more importantly there’s pride as a man,” Bisping said.
“Israel Adesanya is a proud motherf**ker,” continued Bisping. “This is about pride. This is about being the bigger, better man, the better fighter. There’s a reason why Izzy has gotten to where he’s at. There’s a reason why he’s one of the poster boys for the UFC. One of the biggest stars that they have. He’s the whole package.”
“Is there any reason why he wouldn’t be the champ on Saturday night when the dust is settled?”
Michael Bisping gives five reasons why Israel Adesanya will win at UFC 281
