‘His Performance Was Terrible’- Michael Bisping Calls Robert Whittaker vs Israel Adesanya Rematch a ‘Hard Sell’

Former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, spoke to MMA Journalist James Lynch and chimed in on the middleweight division. ‘The Count’ did a deep dive into Israel Adesanya’s championship run and the contenders he’s knocked off so far. Chiefly, Michael Bisping shared his candid views on whether Robert Whittaker should be in line to fight for gold.

Adesanya is heading up to the 205-pound division for UFC 259 and will attempt to capture a second belt. ‘The Last Stylebender’ takes on newly crowned champion Jan Blachowicz who’s keen to swipe off the shine from ‘Izzy’. Moreover, the entire card is stacked and will have plenty of eyeballs on it right from the get-go.

UFC 259 comes in as one of the most stacked cards of the entire year with three title fights. Both Adesanya and Blachowicz will be keen to grab the exposure with both hands and elevate their respective profiles.

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Michael Bisping reflects on Israel Adesanya vs Robert Whittaker

Bisping who’s well in tune with the fight game largely cosigned Israel Adesanya’s decision to make a move up to light heavyweight. He’s beaten several top contenders, and the only fight that makes sense is a rematch with Whittaker. ‘The Reaper’ is on a two-fight win streak, however, as Bisping explained, it’s a ‘hard sell’.

“Yeah, Robert has won two fights, but I think that would be a hard sell to the public to try to get them to part ways with the money… But still, I’d like to see Robert get another shot. I think that first fight was a bad night at the office for Robert I think his game plan was terrible, his performance was terrible. There’s many factors coming into fights causing you to have a bad night at the office.”

He added, “Who is here to beat at middleweight? I’m not saying he’s cleared out the division, but he beat Anderson, he beat Costa, he beat Yoel Romero, he beat Robert Whittaker. I mean yeah, there’s not many others and he’s not vacating the belt from what I understand.”

Israel Adesanya has set the gold standard in the middleweight division, and he’ll be keen for a new face to emerge. Additionally, Robert Whittaker has his next assignment on deck as he’s booked to face Paulo Costa. A highlight reel win over the former Brazilian title challenger will guarantee a title shot comes Whittaker’s way.