"I'm so high on this guy" - Michael Bisping predicts up and coming Australian fighter to become UFC champion "one day"

UFC 290 goes down this weekend, and one UFC legend who seems to have a major interest in the event is former middleweight kingpin Michael Bisping.

‘The Count’ regularly presents his Believe You Me podcast alongside current light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith, and the two men previewed UFC 290 on the most recent edition.

One thing that was definitely notable is that Michael Bisping is very high on a certain fighter set to compete this weekend – rising welterweight star Jack Della Maddalena.

The No.14-ranked Australian was supposed to face off against No.9 contender Sean Brady in what would’ve been a fascinating bout, but last week saw Brady removed from the card.

Instead, Maddalena will now face late replacement Josiah Harrell.

🚨JDM REMAINS ON #UFC290🚨

Jack Della Maddalena will take on undefeated UFC debutant Josiah Harrell at #UFC290 on July 8.

[first rep. @ColeShelton91]

#UFC290 #UFC #MMA https://t.co/JIIKa9TMIH

When discussing Maddalena on his podcast, Bisping touched upon this change to the card, and waxed lyrical about the Australian:

“Jack Della Maddalena, I am so high on this guy, right, he’s so God damn good. I’m telling you. I think, go out there and put your money on him to be a champion one day because I really do, I think he’ll be another Australian champion. The boxing is unbelievable...”

After discussing the staph infection that sidelined Brady, Bisping continued:

“In terms of pure boxing Jack Della Maddalena I think is a cut above most people in the UFC...most of the division...there’s not many people with the hands of Jack Della Maddalena. I’m not saying Sean Brady couldn’t have taken him down and used his world class jiu-jitsu, because he could’ve done, but on the feet, that was a very dangerous fight to take.”

Watch Michael Bisping discuss Jack Della Maddalena below.

Michael Bisping UFC 290: What did Alexander Volkanovski say about his fight with Yair Rodriguez on Bisping’s podcast?

Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith were also joined by reigning featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski on the latest edition of their Believe You Me podcast.

‘Alexander the Great’ spoke about his upcoming fight with Yair Rodriguez, which will headline UFC 290 this weekend, and had the following to say about preparing for ‘El Pantera’.

“That’s exactly what we had to do, bring in some good training partners, you know, obviously you’re gonna have some gameplans, you’re gonna have things you need to do, but as you said, Yair is very unpredictable, very dangerous, you don’t really ever know exactly what he wants to do so yeah, the best thing that you can do is bring in guys that are gonna be unpredictable just to keep you on your toes..”

Watch Volkanovski discuss Rodriguez below.

‘Alexander the Great’ said essentially the same thing in another recent interview, suggesting he isn’t taking Rodriguez lightly at all.