"I find it hard to bet against that guy right now" - Michael Bisping on potential Charles Oliveira vs. Alexander Volkanovski fight
During a live Q&A session on his YouTube channel, a potential matchup between Charles Oliveira and Alexander Volkanovski was brought to Michael Bisping's attention. The Brit found it hard to bet against the current UFC lightweight titleholder.
Taking a closer look at Oliveira’s career, Michael Bisping said:
“Can’t disrespect the champ. Which one? Oliveira, yeah… You don’t know, but Charles Oliveira's something special. The career resurgence that he's had is phenomenal. What he’s been through, what he’s done, the ups and the downs, the losses at 145, goes up to 155, goes on a tear, right? Who did he beat? Michael Chandler. Became the champ. Beats Dustin Poirier. Now he’s fighting Justin Gaethje. I mean, it’s unreal. So I find it hard to bet against that guy right now.”
However, he had little to say about Alexander Volkanovski’s chances in this potential matchup:
“Volkanovski, I don’t know. I don’t know, mate. I’m sitting on the fence there.”
Charles Oliveira is the reigning UFC lightweight champion currently riding a ten-fight winning streak. It began with a submission win over Clay Guida at UFC 225 on June 19, 2018. He won championship gold by beating Michael Chandler at UFC 262 on May 15, 2021. He most recently defended the title at UFC 269 on December 11 of the same year. ‘Do Bronx’ submitted Dustin Poirier via rear naked choke in the third round.
Alexander Volkanovski's latest title defense came against ‘The Korean Zombie’ at UFC 273. He holds a 24-1 MMA record with 21 consecutive wins. He won the featherweight title at UFC 245 on December 14, 2019, defeating Max Holloway via split decision. Both met again at UFC 251, and Volkanovski was, again, victorious. He later defended his belt against Brian Ortega before his TKO victory over Chan Sung Jung.
Watch Michael Bisping discuss a potential fight between Charles Oliveira and Alexander Volkanovski below:
Alexander Volkanovski declared featherweight G.O.A.T. by Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya posted a video of himself watching UFC 273. He even correctly predicted the outcome of the pay-per-view's main event as he gestured, waving off the fight in the fourth round.
After watching Volkanovski win over ‘The Korean Zombie’ Adesanya reviewed the whole fight card and declared Volkanovski the featherweight G.O.A.T.
Watch Israel Adesanya react to Alexander Volkanovski's UFC 273 win below:
Israel Adesanya and Volkanovski train together at the renowned City Kickboxing gym in New Zealand. Both titleholders have emerged as dominant champions in their respective divisions. Volkanovski has defended his title three times, while Adesanya has defended his belt four times.
Interestingly, Adesanya placed numerous bets on the fights at UFC 273. He took to social media to show off his predictions shortly after the event.