UFC 272 is just a little under two weeks away. It will witness the culmination of perhaps the biggest blood feud in UFC history. Colby Covington will take on Jorge Masvidal in the main event. Ahead of the fight, Michael Bisping has raised doubts over Masvidal’s recent KO loss.
Jorge Masvidal was knocked out for the very first time on his 50th professional MMA fight. It came against the no. 1 pound for pound fighter and UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 261. A big overhand right flattened the BMF champion. In a recent video on his YouTube channel, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping ‘pondered’ how Masvidal will perform after having the experience of being knocked out. He started off by praising Masvidal for his long career. Bisping said,
“Masvidal is great. He is very experienced. 35 wins, 15 losses. This will be his 51st professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) contest. So a tremendous amount of experience. He can grapple, he can wrestle, he can scramble, he comes in good shape. Gets the job done with his fists more often than not.”
Michael Bisping wonders if Jorge Masvidal can bounce back after being brutally KO’ed by Kamaru Usman
Michael Bisping himself is a veteran of the game who captured the UFC middleweight title at the very end of his career. He has gone through many ups and downs throughout his illustrious mixed martial arts journey. Perhaps the worst moment of his career came at UFC when he was absolutely flatlined by Dan Henderson at UFC 100. Hence, The Count spoke about his experience and elaborated how things change after a brutal KO.
“But one thing he’s not experienced with, one thing he’s not used to, is getting knocked out. And that’s what happened last time against Kamaru Usman. Kamaru caught him with that beautiful right hand straight down the pipe, connected with the chin. The moment he connected with the chin, it turned his lights off instantly”
???? It’s that time of the year! We’re kicking off #UFCHonors 2021 with the first nominee for Fan Choice KO of the year – @Usman84kg at UFC 261 ????
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“Getting knocked out, it can change things. You know I have experience. When I got knocked out against Dan Henderson at UFC 100, that was a vicious knockout. And I wasn’t aware of any psychological changes. I wasn’t aware of what they call being gun-shy going into that fight, but it definitely was there. It was definitely an issue.”
“Masvidal, if you look at his record, has a TKO in 2008 to Rodrigo Damm. But that was a TKO. It is very very different when (you) compare a TKO to an actual KO. A knockout where they flatline you, where they turn the lights off, where you are left on the Octagon floor. That’s very different. How’s he gonna come back from that? We don’t know.”
“One would assume that he’s gonna be fine. One would assume if you asked him right now, Masvidal would say, ‘what are you talking about man? Ain’t no problem, no big deal, I’ve won fighters and I’ve lost fights.’ But when you lose and you get knocked out like that, it can change things.”
UFC 272 is scheduled for March 6 and it will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Will Jorge Masvidal be able to overcome the odds and make another run for the UFC welterweight championship? Or will he never be the same again after the knockout at UFC 261? The PPV will be exclusively available for purchase through ESPN+.