UFC Hall of Famer and current analyst Michael Bisping and Laura Sanko have shared their takes on UFC 300, as well as their thoughts on how Israel Adesanya’s return should be booked.
It looks like a welterweight championship bout between titleholder Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad is all but official for UFC 300. While not announced by the UFC, Edwards says he’s set to defend his gold on the card, and Belal has already begun training.
Michael Bisping & Laura Sanko Discuss Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad
Laura Sanko appeared as a guest on the “Believe You Me” podcast. During the show, she shared her thoughts on “Rocky” vs. “Remember The Name.”
“First off, it’s the fight that has to be made,” Sanko said. “I think I said it on the weigh-in show, like I was about ready to riot if they didn’t put Belal into this spot, the man has earned it. I think it’s like 10 fights now unbeaten. It’s an interesting matchup, I’d probably out the gate favor Leon a bit, but -400 seems pretty steep, like, real steep.”
While Bisping is in agreement with Belal’s contender status, he wants to see a rising star mix it up with Leon.
“Belal Muhammad is correct, you are right in saying that he is the next number one contender; I do wanna see Shavkat, though,” Bisping said.
Booking Israel Adesanya’s Next Fight
One name that has been rumored for UFC 300 is former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. For his next fight, Sanko wants to see “Izzy” challenge the winner of UFC 297’s Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis title fight. Bisping disagrees, as he feels Adesanya should have to win one fight in his return before getting another title bout.
“Big Izzy fan, he lost two of his last three, does he get an immediate title fight? I mean, I understand if Dricus wins there’s history with Dricus, if Sean wins there’s a rematch there,” Bisping said. “I say they go Izzy vs. Khamzat Chimaev, the winner gets to fight for the belt.”
Sanko isn’t opposed to Bisping’s idea, but she still feels Adesanya vs. the winner of Strickland vs. Dricus is the way to go.
“I don’t hate it,” Sanko said. “For the reason that you just said, I like the Dricus fight because it was the one we all got pumped for, for a little while and then it sort of got jerked out from under us. And then the rematch with Sean makes sense because I don’t think anybody can watch that fight and think that, that was Izzy’s best performance.”
Here’s Laura Sanko’s full appearance on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast:
