"We could see a submission" - Michael Bisping previews Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 at UFC 271
![Michael Bisping (left); Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker (right) [Image courtesy - @MMAFighting on Twitter]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/02/69b8f-16443239999948.png?w=500)
Michael Bisping believes the upcoming rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker will end differently than their first clash.
Adesanya and Whittaker met each other inside the octagon at UFC 243 back in 2019. 'The Last Stylebender' picked up a stunning second-round TKO victory on that occasion.
This time around, 'The Count' feels we might see a submission finish in the rematch. During a recent episode of the Believe You Me podcast, Bisping said Whittaker could cause Adesanya a lot of trouble if he manages to figure out how to take him down.
Bisping pointed out that while Adesanya has a phenomenal striking skill set, he's sometimes found lacking when it comes to grappling. Bisping sees that as an area Whittaker could potentially explore.
"He was lacking a little bit, in that department. There's no shame in that. His striking is phenomenal. A lot of people are lacking compared to his striking so his grappling is lacking compared to some other people's grappling. He's a specialist in kickboxing and everything else, he's catching that up... If Robert can take him down for a significant period of time, we could see a submission and we could see, potentially, a ground-and-pound stoppage."
Check out the latest episode of the Believe You Me podcast below:
Israel Adesanya's coach wants 'five-round whitewash' of Robert Whittaker at UFC 271
Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman wants his star pupil to dominate Robert Whittaker over five rounds in their upcoming middleweight title bout at UFC 271 this Saturday. While many believe knockout wins are the most statement-making victories in the sport, Bareman begs to differ.
According to the City Kickboxing head coach, Adesanya can top his knockout win over Whittaker by putting on a dominant performance and winning via a lopsided unanimous decision. In an interview with Submission Radio, he said:
"People aren’t going to agree with me, but the ultimate thing you can do in fight sports, I think, is not a knockout, it’s a whitewash. And so what I would like to happen is just a five-round whitewash where there is no stoppage this time. But like, every round, there’s just accumulative, accumulative, accumulative damage and it just leaves no doubt. It just leaves no doubt. There’s 25 minutes of mastery."
Check out Bareman's interview with Submission Radio below: