Michael Bisping takes a dangerous gamble against Kelvin Gastelum.
Two weeks ago in Madison Square Garden at UFC 217, Michael Bisping was the UFC Middleweight champion. In the main event he put on an outstanding performance against returning former Welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre. In the third round St-Pierre suddenly dropped Bisping and choked him unconscious, to claim the title. It was a tough loss. But stunningly, Bisping will fight again in one week at UFC Shanghai, against a rising star in Kelvin Gastelum.
Bisping’s striking coach, Jason Parillo, recently spoke with the ESPN Five Rounds about the quick turnaround and upcoming fight.
“Really, Kelvin is, in my opinion, on the feet, a tougher fight than Georges St-Pierre,” said Parillo. “It’s not like Mike’s a guy that shoots and wrestles all the time so obviously it’s gonna be a lot of stand up fighting and this guy’s a bigger threat than I think that even Georges was.”
Bisping is stepping in as a replacement for the greatest Middleweight of all time, Anderson Silva who was pulled from the UFC Shanghai main event failing a USADA drug test. Parillo says that fighting less than a month apart is actually an advantage for Bisping because he’s already mentally focused.
“This guy’s got a different mind frame. Is it gonna hurt or help him? We’re gonna find out. . . You can look at it both ways. I’m looking that it’s a good thing that Michael wants to do. It’s something that he’s very happy about the decision that he made to do this, so we’ve got to ride that positive mind into this fight and hope for the best.”
Parillo also says that Gastelum poses a serious threat, but then again so does any fighter:
“I’m concerned with everybody. If the guy’s got two arms and two legs and breathes, there’s a concern. You’ve got to try to look at the concern of it but you’ve also gotta support your athlete and go in there with a positive mind frame. I know Michael can beat Kelvin Gastelum. I know Michael could beat GSP. I truly believe in my heart of hearts that Michael would’ve started running away with it had we got to that fourth round.
“Mike is a world champion and he can fight any guy on the planet. Is there a question about how he’s gonna be mentally with how close this fight is? Sure, there could be. But I have a feeling Mike’s head is gonna be right in this fight and it’s something that he really wants to go out there and win and try to dust off his last loss. We’re going in. We’re gonna go in regardless of whether I have concerns or don’t have concerns. We’re gonna go in and we’re gonna go in there to win.”
Michael Bisping will take on Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC Shanghai on November 25.
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