Ahead of UFC 273, Michael Bisping yields his prediction for Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns, and apologizes to his friend Burns
Looks like Michael Bisping has hopped on the Chimaev hype-train like many in the MMA community have. The featured bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns has been on the spotlight leading up to UFC 273. While some believe that the Chechen born Swedish mixed martial artist will prove it once and for all that he’s a bonafide threat, others believe that Chimaev’s pride will be deflated by the Brazilian.
It was also confirmed that Chimaev will head into the competition as a massive favourite, something which is unheard of when two fighters with such vast ranking gaps clash. But such is the nature of his dominance that it is difficult to not buy in. In his first four fights inside the octagon the ‘Borz’ has absorbed a cumulative one strike in all those fights combined.
Speaking on his podcast ‘Believe You Me’, Bisping stated that he has hopped into the bandwagon and laid out his prediction. He said, ‘’ I’m gonna lean towards Khamzat and I’m sorry Gilbert. I know we’re buddies, I know we’re friends but if you see this, I hope you prove me wrong, because I do apologize. But you could say that I’ve been sold the hype’.
It would be remiss to say that a number 2 ranked fighter wouldn’t be the clear favorite in a fight against 11th ranked fighter. But defying the usual odds is what Chechen born Swedish fighter Khamzat Chimaev has been doing ever since he made his UFC debut.
Chimaev has taken the MMA world by storm, ever since he made his debut in 2020. The Russian born- Swedish mixed martial artist is pitted to be the only fighter in the welterweight division that really stands a chance to beat the welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman. The promotion has been working relentlessly to get a top-ranked competition for him, and it has finally come to effectuation with a fight against no.2 ranked, Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.
Usually when a top prospect appears on the UFC radar, fans start questioning the legitimacy of the hype, but that hasn’t been the case with Chimaev. His dominance is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and everyone including MMA pundits and oddsmakers have hopped on to the hype train.
This is evident from the latest odds posted by UFC broadcast team commentator Jon Anik. He posted,
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