Tag: Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping hits Colby Covington with harsh reality in UFC Tampa loss to Joaquin Buckley

Michael Bisping thinks Joaquin Buckley was a step ahead of Colby Covington in all facets at UFC on ESPN 63.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] was a step ahead of [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] in all facets at UFC on ESPN 63.

Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) suffered a doctor stoppage TKO loss to Buckley (21-6 MMA, 11-4 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., after a cut on his right eyelid eventually impaired his vision.

Bisping credits Covington for taking the fight on three weeks’ notice against a dangerous contender in Buckley.

“Colby Covington, fair play, I respect him,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He stepped up on short notice, wanted to defend his spot, wanted to prove that he’s willing to take on young, up-and-coming contenders. But tonight was not his night.”

However, Bisping hit the former title challenger with some harsh reality. Although Covington appeared to be rallying in Round 3 before the fight was stopped, Bisping thinks Buckley had his number throughout.

“He was not good enough, he wasn’t quick enough, he wasn’t powerful enough with the wrestling,” Bisping continued. “Joaquin Buckley just kind of picked him apart, busted him up early, opened up a cut right on the eyelid.

“… It was a really good performance. Now granted, Colby Covington as the fight was going on, he was having more success with the wrestling. But his face was a mess. He was getting pieced up by Joaquin Buckley.”

Buckley talked about not getting enough credit in his rise up the welterweight rankings, and Bisping could feel it in his demeanor.

“Buckley is a powerful man, and he’s a bad motherf*cker,” Bisping said. “He’s been in a mood all week. He’s had a real chip on his shoulder and he uses that to fuel himself, OK? Some people don’t necessarily want that negative energy.

“But Joaquin Buckley, listen: All day long, the negative energy, whatever you want to call it, the man’s getting results inside the octagon. He’s clearly working his ass off. He stopped most of the takedowns, and he pieced up Colby Covington on the feet.”

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Michael Bisping compares Ilia Topuria’s desire to move up to lightweight to Conor McGregor

Michael Bisping sees similarities in Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor’s paths in the UFC.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] sees similarities in [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s paths in the UFC.

UFC featherweight champion Topuria hinted at a move up to lightweight, and his coach cited weight cutting as the main reason. McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is the first UFC fighter to hold championships in two weight classes simultaneously, but never defended either his featherweight or lightweight belts.

Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) notched his first title defense when he knocked out Max Holloway at UFC 308, but has now turned his attention to former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Judging by the way Topuria and McGregor’s careers have played out, Bisping sees a resemblance.

“As we know, Ilia Topuria has styled himself on Conor McGregor, and they’ve got a lot in common,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Undefeated in the UFC featherweight division, stock shot to stardom, knocked everybody out, apart from one person – of course that was Josh Emmett, and that was Max Holloway (for McGregor). Everyone else got slept.

“The confidence from Ilia Topuria has been through the roof just like Conor McGregor. There’s even similarities in their tattoos, the way they warm up and stuff like that. …Also, Conor never defended the featherweight strap and it seems like maybe he’s (Topuria) trying to do the same thing. Move up to lightweight, forget about featherweight because he’s, ‘Been there, done it, got the t-shirt.'”

Topuria put out a statement to clarify that he’s yet to make a final decision, however “El Matador” is not short of options. Awaiting him at 145 pounds is a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski, fellow undefeated Movsar Evloev, and red-hot Diego Lopes.

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Why Michael Bisping doesn’t think Anthony Smith will retire after UFC 310 loss

Michael Bisping believes Anthony Smith will want to come back after watching his UFC 310 performance.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] doesn’t think we’ve seen the last of [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] after UFC 310.

Smith suffered a second-round TKO to Dominick Reyes on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena – his fifth loss in his past seven fights. “Lionheart” couldn’t contain his emotions while walking out to his fight after recently losing his longtime friend and coach, Scott Morton.

Reyes revealed that Smith dropped his hands and asked to be punched during the fight. A visibly distraught Smith addressed the fans after the loss and admitted he’s unsure how many times he could compete without his coach by his side. While he didn’t commit to retirement, he said it would “probably” be his last fight.

Bisping believes Smith (38-21 MMA, 13-11 UFC) won’t want this to be his lasting memory in the octagon.

“I don’t think he should’ve taken that fight at all,” Bisping said of Smith on his “Believe You Me” podcast. “I understand his reasoning for that. Maybe to give him something to train for, a way to honor the memory of (Scott) or whatever the case may be, but people won’t remember that when they look back. I feel for Anthony. … He gets paid very handsomely, so obviously there’s that.

“I don’t think he will retire. I think when he watches that back, he’s going to be embarrassed when he watches that, and that’s going to fuel him to want to come back and want to fight again. I’d like to see him fight again because I don’t believe that the world deserves to remember him like that. That wasn’t Anthony at his best.”

Bisping’s message to Smith

If Smith does decide to continue fighting, Bisping urges him to take the fight prep seriously.

“This isn’t a sport that you play, and that’s why people say he needs to retire,” Bisping said. “That’s why Dana (White) says Chris Weidman and Clay Guida need to retire because the more times you step in there and certainly when you get older, and you start getting a bit more frail, and you don’t recover quite, as well. That sh*t will stay with you.

“If he fights, I’m going to give him a call and just say, ‘If you do this, do it for the right reasons. Train as if you’re training for a world title fight, as if you’re going up against Jon Jones.’ You’ve got to leave no stone unturned, otherwise if you’re not willing to do that, then don’t even think about it in the first place.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Michael Bisping: If Ian Machado Garry can’t stop the takedown, he will get finished by Shavkat Rakhmonov

Michael Bisping says the ground is lava for Ian Machado Garry at UFC 310.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] says the ground is lava for [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] at UFC 310.

Machado Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) meets fellow unbeaten contender Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in a five-round welterweight bout on Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Bisping credits Machado Garry for stepping in to face Rakhmonov in what he sees as a tough stylistic matchup for him.

“You’ve got to have a lot of respect for Ian Garry: He didn’t have to take this fight. But can he stop the takedown?” Bisping said on his YouTube channel.

Rakhmonov has a 100 percent finish rate, most recently submitting Stephen Thompson at UFC 296. Bisping warns Machado Garry of hitting the ground with Rakhmonov.

“Ian Garry is probably going to dance around the octagon and use the exact same game plan what he did against Geoff Neal,” Bisping said. “He’s got to keep Shavkat Rakhmonov off him. If he can’t stop the takedown, he will get finished, and that is no disrespect to Ian Garry.

“He might be able to dance around, use the reach, use the range, use the movement. Be fast, be elusive, be nice and crisp, be light on his toes, and be dedicated enough to not get involved in a brawl. If he does that, Shavkat is going to get a hold of him. If he gets a hold of him, he’s going to get him down, and if he gets him down, it’s going to be lights out.”

Bisping mapped out Machado Garry’s path to victory, which he thinks likely won’t be the most crowd pleasing.

“Can Ian Garry stop the takedown? Because if he can’t, someone’s 0 has got to go, and that’s probably going to be Ian Garry’s,” Bisping said. “But he does have a path to victory of using the range, sticking and moving. The crowd will boo, but who cares about the crowd? Winning is all that matters.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Michael Bisping wonders if Kai Asakura can adapt to UFC

Michael Bisping sees Kai Asakura facing a potential hurdle at UFC 310.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] sees [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag] facing a potential hurdle at UFC 310.

Former RIZIN bantamweight champion Asakura (21-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) challenges UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (28-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) on Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+). Asakura will get a title shot in his UFC debut, but with Pantoja’s heavy pace and grappling style, Bisping is curious to see how the Japanese star adapts to fighting in a cage.

“The big difference between PRIDE and the UFC is that they are competing in a ring,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “And the reason why this is going to be interesting is because, has he adapted his style to the UFC? Has he been training in a cage?”

Pantoja is coming off his second successful title defense against Steve Erceg at UFC 301 in May. Meanwhile, Asakura scored a TKO finish of Juan Archuleta to claim the RIZIN bantamweight title last December.

“Last time we saw Pantoja, he had a tough outing with Steve Erceg, a man that shot to fame and rose through the rankings in record time,” Bisping said. “But Kai Asakura, this is a man that is extremely explosive.

“He is a lifelong martial artist, bone-breaking power as I said to you, but if you can’t stop the takedown then I’ll tell you what: It’s going to be another fighter coming over from Japan and not making the transition.”

Bisping used examples like Mauricio Rua, who, despite realizing UFC gold, dropped his octagon debut after transitioning from PRIDE.

“People like Mirko Cro Cop had a good run in the UFC but certainly was not as successful as what he was in PRIDE, and the list goes on – and the Nogueira brothers,” Bisping said. “Again, I’m not saying anything bad about these fighters.

“A lot of them went on to become champions. So, of course, they got there eventually, but there were a couple of stumbling blocks along the way, and will Kai Asakura be another one who stumbles in his first attempt?”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Michael Bisping uses Jake Paul as example to highlight issue with Jon Jones

Michael Bisping is not a fan of UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ mentality.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] is not a fan of UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ mentality.

Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) retained his heavyweight title with a Round 3 TKO of Stipe Miocic in Saturday’s UFC 309 main event. He continued to dismiss interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall and said he’d only continue fighting if he was matched up with light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira.

Jones did later say that he’d need “f*ck you” money to fight Aspinall, but Bisping has an issue with “Bones” going after an easier stylistic matchup. He compared his approach to [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag], who’s coming off a unanimous decision win over 58-year-old Mike Tyson this past Friday in their Netflix headliner.

“My only issue is as a man, as a fighter, is him saying he doesn’t have this obligation to fight these young up-and-coming, hungry, dangerous guys that have an ability to beat him,” Bisping said on his “Believe You Me” podcast. “I don’t get that. That’s what my problem is with Jake Paul.

“Fighting guys that (Jones) knows he can beat – Alex Pereira, he has a very blatantly obvious path to victory. He just took down Stipe. He took down Ciryl Gane. He will take down Alex Pereira. Would he be able to take down Tom? That’s the question. That’s the fight. That’s what we want to see.”

Bisping liked what he saw out of Jones in his performance against Miocic, where he was able to land a big takedown in Round 1 and some brutal ground and pound. Jones then showed off the diversity in his striking by finishing Miocic with a spinning back kick to the body.

“The version of Jon Jones that we saw Saturday night – I’ve always said I think Tom would beat Jon,” Bisping said. “But when I was watching this Saturday night, I was like, ‘Jon looks big. Jon looks fast. Jon looks like he’s got the ability to go five rounds if he wants to or he needs to.’ I believe Jon would give him some problems. I believe that is a real fight that the world wants to see.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Michael Bisping: UFC should consider stripping Jon Jones of heavyweight title if he refuses to fight Tom Aspinall

Michael Bisping thinks there should be consequences for Jon Jones refusing to fight Tom Aspinall with a win at UFC 309.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] thinks there should be consequences for [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] refusing to fight [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] with a win at UFC 309.

Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) defends his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 309 headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+).

If he beats Miocic, Jones made it clear that he’s not interested in a title unification bout with interim champion Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC). Instead, he sees a title defense against light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) doing more for his legacy.

“The reality is Jon Jones is now the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and when he fights Stipe Miocic, if he is victorious, then he has to face Tom Aspinall next,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “This is just the way the world works, OK?”

Aspinall has already had to defend his interim title once, where he avenged his loss to Curtis Blaydes by scoring a first-round TKO at UFC 304 in July. Bisping thinks Jones has to fight Aspinall next or it will tarnish his legacy.

“If he doesn’t, this is in the words of Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘No. 1 bullsh*t,'” Bisping said. “If he refuses to fight Tom Aspinall next, then we’ve got to start having a serious conversation as to whether or not this man should be stripped.

“Jon is the undisputed champion of the world. Tom is the interim champion. This is how it works: They face one another. He’s calling out Alex Pereira for a legacy fight. … I’m not saying this as a Jon Jones hater, but if this was boxing, Jon Jones will be stripped. That’s a fact.”

Bisping would love to see Jones fight Pereira – but not until he faces Aspinall first.

“Alex Pereira is incredible. I’m a huge fan,” Bisping said. “Take my money right now. I would love to see them fight. But that’s only if Jon Jones can get through Tom Aspinall. Simple as that. There is no discussions for any other fight to happen.”

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Michael Bisping: ‘Everyone is overlooking Stipe Miocic’ at UFC 309

Michael Bisping thinks it would be a mistake to heavily underestimate Stipe Miocic against Jon Jones.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] thinks it would be a mistake to heavily underestimate [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] against [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].

Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) challenges heavyweight champion Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) in the UFC 309 main event Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

It’s been almost four years since Miocic last competed – a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in March 2021. Jones on the other hand, made it look easy against Ciryl Gane when he returned from his own long layoff at UFC 285 in March 2023. Jones is a heavy favorite over the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion.

“I’m telling you right now, everyone’s overlooking Stipe Miocic, and these people are absolutely out of their minds,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Right now, according to DraftKings sportsbook, Jon Jones is a -600 favorite. Stipe Miocic is a +440 underdog. This guy is a massive underdog. He is being overlooked, disrespected, completely forgotten about in the heavyweight division, and this man has an opportunity to go out there and shock the entire world, beat Jon Jones, and become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

“People are underestimating Stipe Miocic, and why is that? It’s because the last time we saw Stipe Miocic was UFC 260, March 2021 at the UFC Apex when he went up against Francis Ngannou. We all know how that ended. It was a brutal punch, a vicious knockout. … That’s what people remember. This sport is about what have you done for me lately, and people forget everything Stipe did. People forget that Stipe, on paper, is the greatest heavyweight to ever fight in the UFC’s octagon. He defended the belt three times, which is something nobody else has ever done.”

Bisping thinks the lengthy layoff could play in Miocic’s favor, explaining how there won’t be an physical or emotional trauma after his brutal knockout loss to Ngannou.

“This man feels disrespected,” Bisping said. “He feels overlooked. He knows the entire world is talking about Jon Jones, will he or won’t he fight Tom Aspinall, the interim champ. Don’t tell me that doesn’t piss you off.

“When you’re somebody like Stipe Miocic, a proud man, a very capable man, a former champion, a two-time heavyweight champion of the world and people are just overlooking you? Jesus Christ, that is a powerful motivator.”

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Michael Bisping suggests Leon Edwards step in against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310

Michael Bisping believes former UFC champ Leon Edwards has everything to gain by stepping in vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov.

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] believes [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] has everything to gain by stepping in vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag].

Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was scheduled to challenge welterweight champion Belal Muhammad (22-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in the UFC 310 main event Dec. 7 at T-Mobile in Las Vegas, but a foot infection forced Muhammad out of the bout. Rakhmonov wants to remain on the card and preferably compete for the interim welterweight title. Rakhmonov lobbied for former champion Kamaru Usman, but Bisping pitched a different idea – Edwards (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who lost his welterweight title to Muhammad at UFC 304 in July.

“For Leon Edwards, this does everything,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “You beat Shavkat Rakhmonov, you are the man. You step up, you are the man. You beat this man that’s finishing everybody, what does that do for you? Well, then you’re right back in the title conversation. In fact, you will be probably getting a rematch against Belal Muhammad, and they will probably do that in America

“So, there wouldn’t be that crazy time difference, and that was what Leon pointed to. … He wants to get his hands on Belal Muhammad once again. He wants to right the wrongs. He wants to prove to the world and to himself that he’s the better man. But more importantly, to get back to becoming the welterweight champion of the world.”

Edwards has remained silent for the most part since his title loss to Muhammad but immediately after the fight, he vowed to “get this back in blood.” Bisping doesn’t see a need for an interim title, and neither does Muhammad, who said he’ll only need six weeks to recover.

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Michael Bisping: ‘Ship has sailed’ for Max Holloway at featherweight, plenty of fun fights at 155 pounds

Michael Bisping sees new life for Max Holloway at lightweight.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] sees new life for [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] at lightweight.

Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) failed to regain the featherweight title when he was knocked out by champion Ilia Topuria this past Saturday in the UFC 308 headliner. The loss to Topuria marked the first time Holloway was ever stopped by strikes in his career.

Prior to the Topuria loss, Holloway scored an iconic last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje to capture the BMF title at UFC 300. The win placed him No. 5 in the UFC’s lightweight rankings, and that’s where Bisping thinks Holloway should put all of his focus moving forward.

“The time is done. That ship has sailed: Move on,” Bisping said of Holloway’s featherweight days on his “Believe You Me” podcast. “You’re getting older. The weight cut’s tougher. You’ve had a couple of losses. You almost became the champion again. You looked incredible against Justin Gaethje – you took his shots, you knocked him out cold. He’s ranked No. (5) at lightweight. There’s a lot of fun fights for (Holloway) at 155 pounds.

“There’s Dan Hooker, there’s (Dustin) Poirier, there’s Gaethje, Charles Oliviera – which by the way, them three would all be rematches, which is wild. Arman Tsarukyan, he fights Islam (Makhachev) – there’s nothing but big fights for (Holloway) at 155 pounds. And given that he’s ranked No. 5 already, one, two fights, Max Holloway is trying to become a champion at 155 pounds. So it’s far from over.”

Holloway himself appears to have acknowledged that a move back up to lightweight is the best next step for him.

“I had the best 145 cut here,” Holloway said during the UFC 308 post-fight news conference. “But what else is there to do? I had a couple times to reclaim it. New guys coming up. Yeah, that’d be fun. But I think 155 looks more fun, fighting more, the caliber, everyone there, and the names there – it looks really exciting to put my name in the mix.”

Holloway already had one crack at the lightweight title when he faced Dustin Poirier for the interim belt in April 2019. He lost the bout by unanimous decision.

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