Justin Gaethje thinks Michael Bisping’s commentary during UFC 286 main event was “very unprofessional”

Justin Gaethje wasn’t enamored with the color commentary work of UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping during the UFC 286 headliner.

The main event of UFC 286 featured a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between titleholder Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. The trilogy fight went the distance and Edwards emerged victorious via majority decision.

Gaethje also competed on the same card earlier that night, defeating Rafael Fiziev via majority decision. Gaethje, who trains with Usman, told reporters during the UFC 286 post-fight press conference that he believes Bisping had no business commentating the main event title fight (h/t MMAMania.com).

“Yeah, I mean, I thought [Kamaru] won the fight,” Justin Gaethje said during UFC’s 286 post-fight press conference. “But, I’m probably as biased as the judges, certainly not as biased as Michael Bisping — you shouldn’t have been nowhere near a microphone during that fight.

“I just thought it was very unprofessional,” Gaethje concluded.

Bisping has been criticized for his overall performance at the commentary desk this past Saturday. “The Count” had a few instances where he stumbled over his words and at one point, he called preliminary fighter Malcolm Gordon “Malcolm X.”

This isn’t the first time Bisping has been accused of being biased on commentary. Some felt that Bisping was dismissive of Robert Whittaker’s efforts against Israel Adesanya in their rematch at UFC 271 back in February 2022. Adesanya won the fight via unanimous decision, but Bisping was accused of heavily favoring Adesanya.

“The Count” responded to the backlash from that fight last year on social media.

“Lots of people saying I [have] biased commentary,” Bisping said. “That’s crazy. I called it like I saw it. Big opening round for Izzy, then real close rounds after that, but I had Izzy winning most. Five was Rob’s best round. Two probably went to him also. Close fight, very technical, well done to both!”