Michael Bisping believes Israel Adesanya didn't do enough to wow fans who splashed out for UFC 276 tickets last weekend.
The middleweight champion dominated Jared Cannonier in his fifth world title defence, but the fight lacked a real edge and was ultimately a poor spectacle for viewers. And with fans in the building paying $110, or around £92 for the cheapest available ticket, while watching on pay-per-view set American viewers back $75 (£63).
Bisping was among a number of vocal critics, including Hollywood star Chris Pratt, who also attended the fight and is an avid MMA fan. Adesanya defended his performance in posts after the bout, asking what people were "fake caring about today", and sharing a photo of him with his belt captioned "Blah blah blah blah #AndStill."
"Israel Adesanya showed once again his technical brilliance," Bisping said on the UFC 276 BT Sport post-fight show. "Problem is, that was never in question. People always knew he was technically fantastic, and you know, without flaw.
"What I wanted to see was a little more urgency, a willingness to entertain the 20,000 people that have paid for very expensive tickets. However: and still. That is the main thing. The walk, as we know here, was legendary. And he came out, and he was ahead in every round.
"I agree with 50-45. But as I say, a sense of urgency from both men was what was required. Listen, at the end of the day, Adesanya did what he set out to do. That was defend the belt. But however, he's not wowing audiences. He would probably say that's not his job, his job is to win fights and that's what he did."
And Bisping was joined by an unlikely ally in movie star Pratt, who had very similar sentiments when he was interviewed after the fight. He attended as a fan, and after a heated build-up that saw Adesanya tear up the microphone on stage at the pre-fight press conference, he was unimpressed with the overall show.
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“I’m going to say this as humbly as I can," Pratt said during the ESPN post-fight show. "As a guy who never stepped in the Octagon. I don’t know this game, I’m just an actor. But I’m not a fan. I’m not a fan of coming out, like, all that talk and then just kind of putting on a little bit of a pitter-patter. I’m like, ‘Come on, man. Cash on that.’ You’ve got to cash on that promise of being so bada**.
“If I bet with my money, I would bet Adesanya would’ve done something like that. But I was hoping to see Cannonier [win]. I’m not going to lie."
Adesanya now seems to be set to face Alex Pereira in a trilogy fight of sorts with his middleweight title on the line. The pair competed twice in kickboxing, with the Brazilian winning both including one vicious knockout of the man who would eventually go undefeated at middleweight in MMA.
