This weekend will see the return of the legend that is Michael Bisping, just three weeks after his last fight at UFC 217. That, in itself, is unprecedented – and it becomes even more shocking when you realise that his opponent will be none other than rising star Kelvin Gastelum.
The two men are set to compete against one another in the wake of Anderson Silva’s failed drug test, which opened the door for The Count to step back inside the Octagon less than a month after losing his UFC Middleweight Championship to Georges St-Pierre.
That night in New York City undoubtedly hurt Michael from a mental standpoint, but physically, he’s ready to go.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ve got the always dangerous Gastelum, who many will remember as being the man who defeated Uriah Hall in The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale against all the odds.
Of course, there’s a lot more to him than that, and the 26-year-old is widely considered to be one of the hottest prospects not only in the middleweight division, but in all of mixed martial arts.
So with just a few days to go until it all goes down in Shanghai, it’s time to take a look at the latest betting odds from Paddy Power for what is set to be one of the most fascinating Fight Night main events of 2017.
In what will come as a surprise to very few people when you consider that he was involved in an absolute war at the start of November, the Englishman Bisping opens as a 2/1 underdog. Still, he’s clearly being given the benefit of the doubt on some level, with his opposite number Kelvin coming in as a 1/3 favourite.
The sheer power of Gastelum is something that will likely play a big factor in this one, as even GSP proved that Bisping can be rocked from time to time. With that being said, we’ve also seen the likes of Chris Weidman neutralise Gastelum’s power game – but is Bisping able to produce the kind of submission expertise that would see him through to victory?
Both men are no strangers to winning via decision but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expert fireworks. In fact, you could make an argument that this one will be entertaining regardless of whether or not there’s a stoppage.
In the modern day you tend to get quite a few fighters who want to protect themselves at all costs, and sometimes, you need a few warriors like Michael Bisping to keep us sane.
