Jon Anik comes out in defense of Michael Bisping after Justin Gaethje's 'biased commentary' accusation
Following UFC 286, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping was accused of being biased by top lightweight contender Justin Gaethje during the post-fight press conference.
Gaethje, who won against Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event, called out Bisping for favoring Leon Edwards in his fight against Kamaru Usman.
"I thought he won the fight. But I'm probably as biased as the judges. [But] Certainly not as biased as Michael Bisping. He shouldn't have been nowhere near a microphone during that fight. Yeah, [it] sucks... I just thought it was very unprofessional."
Check out Justin Gaethje accusing Michael Bisping of bias below:
Justin Gaethje criticizes @Bisping's "very unprofessional" commentary in the #UFC286 main event between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.
"He shouldn't have been nowhere near a microphone during that fight."
#UFC286 | Full video: bit.ly/3LuYGUl https://t.co/7M9vRyQlgo
However, Jon Anik, Bisping's broadcast partner, came out in defense of him on Twitter. He wrote:
"Must say in defense of my broadcast partner @bisping, the man has zero agenda nor any bias when calling fights. Might even have closer personal relationship w/ Kamaru Usman than he does Leon Edwards. He just felt as though Edwards controlled the stand-up, landed more cleanly."
Anik's statement supports Bisping's reputation as an impartial commentator and suggests that his decision was based purely on the performance of the fighters in the octagon. This incident highlights the challenges that commentators face in being unbiased and fair when providing commentary during fights.
Check out Anik's tweet below:
1) Must say in defense of my broadcast partner @bisping, the man has zero agenda nor any bias when calling fights. Might even have closer personal relationship w/ Kamaru Usman than he does Leon Edwards. He just felt as though Edwards controlled the stand-up, landed more cleanly.
Michael Bisping discusses Paddy Pimblett's potential matchup against Drew Dober at UFC 288
Michael Bisping revealed the potential path to victory for controversial lightweight Paddy Pimblett in his rumored matchup against Drew Dober at UFC 288.
Bisping acknowledged that while Pimblett faces a challenging opponent in Dober, the Scouser has a significant advantage in grappling. Pimblett's jiu-jitsu skills, according to Bisping, give him a "massive grappling advantage" and will be his "path to victory" against Dober.
'The Count' also praised Pimblett's explosive and inventive abilities and called his back-take skills some of the best in mixed martial arts.
Appearing in a recent video on his YouTube channel, Bisping said:
"Even though Paddy says Scousers don't get knocked out, sometimes they do... In terms of the matchup [Pimblett vs. Dober], I give Paddy a massive grappling advantage. When I say grappling, I'm talking about jiu-jitsu and that's going to be Paddy's path to victory."
He continued, saying:
"He's got to look to grapple, he's got to look to take him down and take his back, and that is what Paddy does best. He's incredibly inventive, explosive, and exciting."
The rumored matchup between Pimblett and Dober is yet to be confirmed, but Bisping's analysis provides insight into how Pimblett could emerge victorious.