Michael Bisping doesn’t think this weekend’s UFC 305 card will go well for fighters from Australia and New Zealand.
UFC 305 will take place in Perth, Australia on Saturday night (Sunday morning local time), and will feature some of the best fighters from the host country, as well as nearby New Zealand.
That includes Nigerian-born Kiwi Israel Adesanya, who will look to kick off a third title reign at the expense of current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in the main event.
Speaking on his YouTube channel ahead of the event, former middleweight champion Bisping shared his final predictions for the main card.
He began his predictions by confessing that he was competing against most of the local fighters on the card.
“If you’re Australian, if you’re Kiwi, if you’re New Zealand, if you’re from Australia, if you’re from the ANZAC tribe, I apologize, because you’re all going to lose,” he said. “I don’t even like to say that. My predictions – I’ll cut to the chase – are not going to be good for the home team. By home team I mean if you’re from Australia or New Zealand, and there are plenty of them on the card.”
Bisping spent the majority of his time analyzing the UFC 305 main event. While he acknowledged that Adesanya has several paths to victory, he ultimately chose South African Du Plessis to retain the title.
“Izzy is a counter attacker and might be able to catch Dricus when he comes in,” he said. “As [Du Plessis is] Come in, boom, shoot him, just like he did with Alex Pereira.
“I think Dricus Du Plessis’ chin is going to hold up,” he added. “I think it’s going to be an all-out war. I think both men are going to have a lot of success, but I think Dricus is going to have success with takedowns, and when he gets to the ground, this man is a specialist.
“That’s my prediction. I think Dricus Du Plessis will have his first successful title defense. There’s a lot of pressure on Israel Adesanya. Is he the same guy? Is the passion the same?”
The UFC 305 co-main event will pit New Zealander Kai Kara-France against Australian Steve Erceg in a top-tier flyweight clash. Bisping predicted Erceg will beat Kara-France.
He also predicted that Polish lightweight contender Mateusz Gamrot will beat Israel Adesanya’s training partner and fellow New Zealander Dan Hooker earlier on the main card, and that Surinamese heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik will beat Australia’s Tai Tuivasa.
There are no Australians or New Zealanders in the opening fight of the UFC 305 main card, which will pit Brazilian Carlos Prates against China’s Li Jingliang, but Bisping still gave his support to the fighter from the opposite hemisphere, Prates.
