Michael Bisping says Jan Blachowicz “set the tone” for how Marvin Vettori can beat Israel Adesanya

UFC commentator Michael Bisping says that Jan Blachowicz “set the tone” for how Marvin Vettori can beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 263.

Back at UFC 259 in March, Blachowicz handed Adesanya his first loss in MMA when he was able to win a unanimous decision to defend the UFC light heavyweight title. Although Blachowicz held his own on the feet, the key to beating Adesanya was to take him down in open space. Other fighters saw that the blueprint to beat Adesanya is there, and according to Bisping, it’s a tactic that other fighters will use against the champion going forward.

Speaking to The Schmo, Bisping spoke about the upcoming Adesanya vs. Vettori fight at UFC 263, and he explained how Vettori could have the upper hand in the matchup.

“For Adesanya, he should go into this fight very confident,” Bisping explained. “Of course, he’s already beaten Marvin Vettori. Both of them have got better, I think Vettori has got way better. I think for Marvin Vettori, seeing the way Blachowicz beat him has set the tone for how to beat him,” Bisping said (h/t Abhinav Kini of MiddleEasy.com).

“I think the way to beat Adesanya is obviously take him down, but most people take him down against the fence. It’s easier [to defend] because you can lean agains the wall or the fence and if you get taken down, you can use that to stand back up. What we saw against Blachowicz was Blachowicz took him down in the middle of the Octagon. The reason that’s more beneficial is you got to be a better wrestler to penetrate and drive through and put them down. To take someone down in the middle is harder but you’ll have more success against Israel is because they haven’t got the fence to lean on — they’re just going to fall over. And then when you get him down, it’s actually way harder to get back to your feet if you’re in the middle of the Octagon because you’ve got nothing to lean on.”

Though Bisping believes that Vettori has a clear gameplan to beat Adesanya, he says that in the end, he’s still going to side with the champion to once again defend his title.

“I think Vettori saw that and I think he’ll come with a heavy wrestling-oriented game plan like he did against Kevin Holland, but you still got to side with the champ. I’m still leaning with the champ. He’s the champ for a reason,” Michael Bisping said.

Do you think Marvin Vettori can beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 263?