Michael Bisping explains why Alexander Volkanovski will be difficult to take down for Islam Makhachev - "Gonna have to level change much, much more to get in there deep"
Michael Bisping believes Islam Makhachev will face difficulty in taking the fight to the ground against Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski and Makhachev are set to square off in a superfight at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia. The fight will also be a rare instance when the fighters holding the top two spots in the pound-for-pound rankings will compete against each other.
Bisping spoke about the matchup in a recent video released to his YouTube channel. 'The Count' said that Volkanovski's shorter stature might come in handy during his fight against the lightweight champion.
According to Bisping, the Dagestani may have to work harder than ever before in order to land a takedown against 'The Great':
"Islam has the better wrestling. It's as simple as that. But Volkanovski is a much, much shorter guy and when you're shorter, you have a lower center of gravity. Therefore, you're harder to take down. Also, your legs are shorter. So, it's a smaller target to get ahold of. Islam's gonna have to level change much, much more to get in there deep, to get on the legs, to get a body lock."
Watch the full video below:
Coming into the showdown, both Makhachev and Volkanovsko are on spectacular runs in the UFC.
The Dagestani has won 11 fights in a row in the lightweight division. Volkanovski, on the other hand, is undefeated in the UFC and is on a 12-fight winning streak in the promotion.
Dan Hooker shares his thoughts on Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Dan Hooker recently sat down for a chat with Submission Radio. At one point during the 30-plus minute talk, 'The Hangman' discussed the UFC 284 main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev.
'The Hangman' echoed Bisping's sentiments in the video and said that Volkanovski's size disadvantage might help him stuff takedowns. Hooker added that the Dagestani and his team might be overlooking Volkanovski:
"I feel like they [Islam Makhachev and his team] are kind of looking down at [Alexander Volkanovski]. They're in for a whole lot of trouble. He's an incredibly difficult man to hold on the ground. He keeps saying that he's short and stuff like that but holding a guy that's stocky on the ground is incredibly difficult. So I feel like he's in for an incredibly tough test."
Catch the full Dan Hooker interview below: