Michael Bisping is not expecting UFC Freedom 250 to end with an American having their hand raised.
Sunday’s UFC event on the White House lawn will come to a close with an undisputed lightweight champion having gold wrapped around their waist.
After beating Paddy Pimblett this past January, Justin Gaethje is tasked with defeating Ilia Topuria if he is to convert his interim status to undisputed on home soil.
The Spaniard will enter the Octagon as a huge favorite on fight night, and Bisping certainly understands why.
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Michael Bisping backs Ilia Topuria to land KO shot on Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250
Topuria is on a legendary run inside the Octagon, which has helped to extend his perfect professional MMA record to 17-0.
After knocking out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in featherweight title fights, Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last year to become the promotion’s tenth two-division champion.
With that winning form in mind, Bisping is among those expecting the Spanish flag to be waving at the conclusion of the UFC White House main event.
And he even thinks Topuria’s prediction for a brutal and fast finish in round one is within the realms of possibility on June 14.
“I don’t think I’m gonna surprise anyone by saying I think Ilia Topuria does this. He’s surgical, he’s precise, he’s got absolutely insane power,” Bisping told Bloody Elbow via Casino.org.
“Justin’s got power, he knocked out Dustin Poirier, but the difference is that we routinely see this from Ilia Topuria. He knocks people out back-to-back. Max Holloway, Volkanovski, Charles Oliveira.
“Justin’s great, Justin’s awesome, we’re all fans of Justin, but Justin’s got a lot of miles on the clock,” he continued. “And Justin went toe-to-toe with Paddy for five rounds and took a lot of damage.
“Ilia’s talking his one shot. I think he will land that one shot. I mean, he’s saying that he’s gonna break his jaw in the first 15 seconds. You never know, we might see that.”
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Topuria has consistently rejected any chance of ‘The Highlight’ escaping the very first round in Washington, D.C.
Gaethje, however, thinks the champion is backing himself into a corner with that prediction and will be in trouble if he finds himself having to return from his corner for a second round.
Fans won’t have to wait much longer to find out which lightweight star is correct.