‘Samurai that Went Away and Learned From His Past Mistakes’- Michael Bisping Favors ‘Reinvigorated’ Version of Former Rival Luke Rockhold Against Israel Adesanya
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping spoke out via his YouTube channel and talked about his former rival Luke Rockhold. Bisping and Rockhold had one of the most volatile feuds in the UFC leading up to their fight back in 2016. However, in recent years, both men have become friends and have been seen posing with each other in a friendly association.
Bisping responded to comments made by Luke Rockhold regarding his odds against Israel Adesanya. Rockhold believes he is the ‘only one’ who is capable of defeating ‘Izzy’ in a potential championship encounter. Michael Bisping had some thoughts to share about Rockhold’s assessment.
Michael Bisping ran into former opponent Luke Rockhold at the gym…
…which ended in a few laughs and some love for Rockhold's dog, Lucy 🐶 (via @bisping) pic.twitter.com/0bD6UPa08w
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 3, 2021
Bisping said that he wouldn’t be surprised if Luke Rockhold becomes the champion once more due to his physical gifts for the middleweight division. Moreover, he talked about Rockhold’s renowned ground game and heaped praise on Rockhold before his imminent return to MMA.
“If Rockhold beats (Costa), don’t be surprised if he becomes champion of the world once again. Adesanya needs fresh meat,” Bisping said. “What does Rockhold have that could trouble Adesanya? Well, for one, he’s about the same height.”
“He’s probably about the same reach. Athletically, he’s just as good. Granted, he’s a little bit older, so maybe not quite as fast. Maybe the reflexes aren’t there. But we know about the ground game of Rockhold, we know about the top pressure, we know about how deadly he can be on the feet.”
Additionally, Michael Bisping shared a throwback with fans, calling Rockhold a samurai that has learned from his past mistakes. This is an obvious reference to Luke Rockhold’s infamous belief that he’s a modern-day samurai.
“I’m just saying, with this new reinvigorated Luke Rockhold, this new version, this samurai that went away and learned from his past mistakes and now has come back centered, grounded, hungry, sober, personal problems behind him, I think this Luke Rockhold could be a nightmare for a lot of people in the middleweight division.” [h/t mmajunkie.com]
Plenty will be revealed to fans when Luke Rockhold storms the UFC’s octagon once more against Paulo Costa in his return.
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