Michael Bisping believes Israel Adesanya is under pressure for Robert Whittaker rematch - "There's a little chink in the armor"

Michael Bisping weighs in on the upcoming rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker [Image credits: @mikebisping and @ufc on Instagram]

Michael Bisping recently opined that Israel Adesanya might be feeling a bit of pressure heading into his rematch against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271.

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Speaking on his podcast Believe You Me, Bisping discussed the upcoming UFC 271 main event. 'The Count' said there was a chance Adesanya's loss to Jan Blachowicz could possibly affect the champion's mindset:

"Izzy talks a lot of s***. He's a funny guy, he's got charisma. He's got a big mouth but he backs it up sensationally... But I'm wondering if the pressure of Robert's getting to him a little bit... Certainly after losing to Jan Blachowicz... When you lose a fight, maybe there's a little chink in the armor. The mind isn't quite as rock solid as it used to be and it's only natural. And he lost by takedowns and Robert is an accomplished wrestler... It's gonna be a much much more competitive fight this time."

Catch the full episode of Michael Bisping's Believe You Me podcast below:

Adesanya suffered the first loss of his MMA career at UFC 259. 'The Last Stylebender' moved up a division to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title. The Nigerian-born New Zealander came up short that night and lost the contest via a unanimous decision.

‘He’s going to remember me for the rest of his life’: Jan Blachowicz says Israel Adesanya will never forget UFC 259 title tussle | themaclife.com/sports/mma/hes… https://t.co/sYvLzkmc5A

Dan Hooker says Israel Adesanya is nervous ahead of UFC 271

Israel Adesanya's teammate Dan Hooker has shed light on the middleweight champion's mindset heading into UFC 271.

In an interview with LowKick MMA, 'The Hangman' said that despite already having a win over Whittaker, Adesanya was not taking things lightly. Furthermore, Hooker stated that his countryman has "nervous energy" going into the rematch:

"He's good. He's definitely in a good place. From the interactions that I've had with him... I guess with the rematch, especially the way that the first fight went, you can kind of – not necessarily underestimate your opponent – but you can take it a little bit lightly because you know you put on such a dominant performance right there. It might be hard to get up for the training but it's not like that. Like he said to me this morning, he said, 'You know I'm nervous.' That's good, you know. He's got that nervous energy which you need."

Check out Dan Hooker's insight on Israel Adesanya below:

Adesanya fought 'The Reaper' for the first time at UFC 243. The fight was a short-lived affair as the 32-year-old finished the Australian in the second round to become the new middleweight king.