"A real chance of rocking the applecart here" - Michael Bisping believes Bobby Green might become No.1 lightweight contender if he beats Islam Makhachev
Michael Bisping believes Bobby Green has a chance to shake things up atop the UFC lightweight division going into his upcoming bout.
Green, who is currently unranked, is scheduled to face highly-touted contender Islam Makhachev in the first headliner of his UFC career this Saturday. The UFC veteran accepted the fight on ten days' notice after Makhachev's scheduled opponent Beneil Dariush pulled out due to an injury.
With many pegging the originally scheduled bout as a title eliminator, Bisping believes Green could become the No.1 contender at 155 lbs if he beats Makhachev. The UFC Hall of Famer recently said on his YouTube channel:
"You know he's [Islam Makhchev] the Khabib 2.0, he is his protege and all the rest. So he's getting all the headlines. But Bobby Green has a real chance at rocking the applecart here. Bobby Green had a chance of going out there and potentially becoming the number one contender."
He added:
"After all those years, the ups and downs, the adversity, the decisions that he [Bobby Green] felt didn't go his way. Now, first main event, so bless him for that. And now he goes up against Islam. Beneil [Dariush] and Islam was for the number one contender spot. So if Bobby can get it done, I think he can become the number one contender."
Watch Michael Bisping discuss Green's shot at becoming the No.1 contender below:
Bobby Green claims to be the lightweight BMF
Bobby Green recently schooled Nasrat Haqparast on his way to a dominant unanimous victory at UFC 271. That made it two in a row for 'King' following a bonus-winning TKO victory over Al Iaquinta at UFC 268 last year.
Interestingly, Green wasn't originally scheduled to fight Haqparast either. He stepped in as a replacement on that occasion as well. Despite being unranked, he is now set to square off against No.4-ranked Islam Makhachev next. After accepting the fourteen-day turnaround, Green posted an edited image of himself wearing the BMF belt.
He wrote in the caption:
"If they had one [BMF belt] for the lightweight division"
Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev is currently riding a magnificent nine-fight winning streak. Touted as the next Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev was looking to seal a title shot with a win over fellow top-ranked lightweight contender Beneil Dariush.
Nevertheless, the Dagestani did not back down when offered an unranked opponent in Green instead.