Michael Bisping Critiques Israel Adesanya's Performance in UFC 293 Loss to Sean Strickland

Michael Bisping Critiques Israel Adesanya's Performance in UFC 293 Loss to Sean Strickland

Michael Bisping believes that Israel Adesanya's mindset played a role in his defeat against Sean Strickland.

In the recent UFC 293 headliner at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) suffered a surprising loss, being dropped and outstruck by Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC), resulting in the loss of his middleweight title.

During the fight, Strickland came close to finishing Adesanya at the end of the first round. Bisping expressed his dissatisfaction with Adesanya's reaction and that of his corner, criticizing them for their apparent dismissiveness toward the gravity of the situation.

โ€œThere was certainly an air of arrogance in the corner of Israel Adesanya and from Izzy himself,โ€ Bisping said onย TNT Sportsโ€™ Fight Week.ย โ€œEven when he was dropped in the first round and very, very close to being finished, he had kind of a smug look on his face like, โ€˜God bless this guy, he landed a shot. Overhand? OK, no worries.โ€™ No concern, no look of stress, no worry, no realization that heโ€™s in there with a real threat.โ€

Bisping also questioned Adesanya fighting off his backfoot and relying on his counters, and doesnโ€™t think he was active enough when throwing strikes.

โ€œThe reason he almost got the finish in Round 1 was because Izzy was moving backward, and Izzy relies on a lot of fast footwork,โ€ Bisping said. โ€œWhen youโ€™ve backed up all the way to the fence, thereโ€™s no further to move back and you canโ€™t even lean back as far and that was his own demise.

โ€œThatโ€™s because he was backing up the whole time. You donโ€™t win fights by backing up. Granted, we have seen masterclasses. โ€ฆ But youโ€™ve got to have some forward pressure, as well, and dancing away all night, backfooting and backtracking, and not throwing very much is no surprise. That is not the recipe to win a fight.โ€

UFC presidentย Dana White said Adesanya should get an immediate rematch against Strickland, but Bisping wants to see the division move on.

โ€œIf itโ€™s me, weโ€™ve got Dricus Du Plessis right there. Weโ€™ve got Robert Whittaker. Weโ€™ve got Khamzat Chimaev,โ€ Bisping said. โ€œThis would allow the division to move on and have a breath of fresh air and maybe some new eras begin. In the meantime, Izzy can go away and have a well-deserved break.

โ€œI am not taking away from Sean Strickland. I thought he did a sensational job. Congratulations to him. But I do think there is something to the schedule that Izzy has kept โ€“ which, good for him. It was incredible, but also, to a certain point, possibly to his detriment, as well.โ€

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