Michael Bisping Thinks Adesanya Will Be More Popular Than McGregor
Israel Adesanya put on quite the performance to capture the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 243. Because of this, Michael Bisping thinks that he is on his way to super stardom.
Michael Bisping knows a thing or two about the Middleweight division. The UFC Hall of Famer earned the title towards the end of his career. Although he ended up losing it to Georges St. Pierre, he still beat some big names in the weight class.
Adesanya not only managed to finish Robert Whittaker to earn that title, but did so in style. In his walkout to the fight, he had an entire choreographed dance routine. When speaking on his Believe You Me Podcast, Bisping discussed that entrance, and what the future could look like to Adesanya.
“Listen, the walkout was great. He’s a star, he’s got charisma, all that type of stuff. And right now he’s poised to set to be possibly the biggest star in the UFC.
He could even overtake McGregor at this rate. He really could. Well for one, he hasn’t got the negativity surrounding him. He hasn’t made all the mistakes. Now, who knows? He might go down that route, but I doubt it.”
Bisping goes on to explain how much his respect for Adesanya grew at the Hall of Fame ceremony.
“He really went up in my estimations when we had the Hall of Fame ceremony. He was sat there, I don’t know if he was by himself, I’m sure he was with somebody. But when the cameras went on him, he seemed to be just in there paying respect to the Hall of Famers. I mean I like the guy anyway. He’s always entertaining when he fights, brings it every time.
He’s entertaining on the mic. On Instagram, he’s very, very funny. He’s got an awesome account, you need to follow that. But just the fact he was there at International Fight Week, he went and paid his respects to people being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I thought, ‘wow that speaks volumes about the man.’”
Israel Adesanya is most certainly one of the brightest rising stars in the UFC. However, it is worth noting that Conor McGregor had already had a much higher level of mainstream appeal in a similar time frame. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if Michael Bisping is right about his star power.
