Michael Bisping regrets "underestimating" Israel Adesanya every time before 'The Last Stylebender' fights
![Michael Bisping (left) and Israel Adesanya (right) [Images courtesy of Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/07/605fe-16571076344124-1920.jpg?w=500)
Michael Bisping recently revealed that he regrets doubting Israel Adesanya before every one of the Nigerian-born New Zealander's fights.
Bisping and Anthony Smith discussed the potential next middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira on the Believe You Me podcast. 'The Count' stated that he always picks Adesanya's opponents to win ahead of the middleweight champion's fights.
However, 'The Last Stylebender' has proved him wrong on multiple occasions and Bisping regrets his decision to doubt the striking maestro:
"When you see Izzy, how he beats everybody, afterwards I am like I will never underestimate him again. Then I always do. I don't know why. When I look at this, on my mind, 'Oh! Pereira is gonna be the guy.' But again it's so disrespectful to the body of work that [Adesanya] has had. It's not easy to stay on top like that on your worst night."
Bisping then went on to ask 'Lionheart' to give his prediction for an Adesanya vs. Pereira fight. The former light heavyweight title challenger lauded Adesanya's ability to avoid big shots and pointed out that it would be too disrespectful to pick against the Nigerian-born champion:
"Izzy's so so good in not taking big shots. If I had to make a prediction, it would be too disrespectful to pick against Israel Adesanya right now."
Watch Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith talk about Adesanya vs. Pereira:
Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 3 might be next
Adesanya and Alex Pereira are familiar foes to each other. The duo have previously clashed twice inside the kickboxing ring, with 'Poatan' being the winner on both occasions. The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion is the only man to ever finish 'The Last Stylebender'.
'Poatan' earned his third straight UFC victory after finishing Sean Strickland in the first round at UFC 276. The Brazilian sits at the No.6 spot in the middleweight rankings. He is expected to take on Adesanya for a third time in his career next.
Adesanya defended his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. The 185lbs king has stated on multiple occasions that he is a much-improved fighter than the one that fought Alex Pereira. Fans can expect a barnburner when this fight eventually happens.