Michael Bisping says Israel Adesanya can overtake Conor McGregor as biggest UFC star

Michael Bisping feels Israel Adesanya may be able to surpass Conor McGregor in terms of star power.

McGregor is widely recognized as the biggest mixed martial arts star. The “Notorious” one has made his mark in mainstream media and become a household name. With McGregor’s run-ins outside the Octagon, however, some believe that his shine may be fading. Enter Israel Adesanya, who many feel is picking up the ball and running with it.

During the latest edition of his Believe You Me podcast, Michael Bisping expressed his belief that Israel Adesanya could become a bigger star than Conor McGregor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQUn7fO1VUg

“Listen, the walkout was great,” Michael Bisping said of Israel Adesanya’s UFC 243 entrance. “He’s a star, he’s got charisma, all that type of stuff. And right now he’s poised to set to be possibly the biggest star in the UFC. He could even overtake McGregor at this rate. He really could. Well for one, he hasn’t got the negativity surrounding him. He hasn’t made all the mistakes. Now, who knows? He might go down that route, but I doubt it.”

Bisping looked back at the one moment that showed Adesanya’s true character in his eyes.

“He really went up in my estimations when we had the Hall of Fame ceremony,” Michael Bisping continued. “He was sat there, I don’t know if he was by himself, I’m sure he was with somebody. But when the cameras went on him, (Israel Adesanya) seemed to be just in there paying respect to the Hall of Famers. I mean I like the guy anyway. He’s always entertaining when he fights, brings it every time. He’s entertaining on the mic. On Instagram, he’s very, very funny. He’s got an awesome account, you need to follow that. But just the fact he was there at International Fight Week, he went and paid his respects to people being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I thought, ‘wow that speaks volumes about the man.'”

Adesanya became the undisputed UFC middleweight champion this past Saturday night (Oct. 5). He defeated Robert Whittaker via second-round TKO in the main event of UFC 243.

Do you think Israel Adesanya can surpass Conor McGregor in terms of star power?