At UFC 234, the UFC’s hottest prospect, Israel Adesanya, will take on one of the sport’s all-time greats, Anderson Silva. It’s a classic “old guard versus new breed” bout, and one that many believe will be a grisly putting-out-to-pasture for Silva by a man dubbed “The Next Anderson Silva”. But not everyone is so sure, including one of the few men to ever get their hand raised against “The Spider”.

Speaking recently on his Believe You Me podcast, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping said that he wouldn’t go counting out Silva just yet.

“Israel is an entertaining guy,” said Bisping. “He was talking about the fight with Anderson and how he looks up to him and he doesn’t want to kill his hero but that’s what he’s gonna try and do. I don’t know if it’s that simple. Anderson is very capable and Israel said as much. . .

“We’ll see what happens. I think Anderson knows his back is up against the wall. For him to have any kind of career after this fight, he has to win this fight, he has to look good. Of course, he had the whole thing with steroids as well, so Anderson has a lot to prove right now. So I wouldn’t be running out there and putting the money on Israel Adesanya just yet.”

Silva has more than just pride or money at stake though, the former long-time middleweight champion has something even more important at stake: a chance to reclaim the title he lost five years ago. Adesanya, for his part, also agrees that Silva should not be taken lightly, after all, this is a man who was considered the Greatest of All Time not that long ago. But for Bisping, there’s more to it than just that. As impressive as Adesanya has been in the UFC this year, “The Count” says that he is still unproven and even goes so far as to say that of all the people he’d like to fight right now, Adesanya is number one because he believes it to be an easy matchup.

“I like Israel Adesanya but I’ll tell you something, if there’s one person if you asked me who I want to fight right now, it would be Israel,” Bisping said. “When I look at him - listen, he’s good, he’s great, but I’m sorry, I’m not buying it. I’m not saying I’m not impressed. I’m on the hype train. He’s good, he’s beating people. He’s beating the Marvin Vettoris of the world. He had a good win against Derek Brunson but Derek Brunson looked like sh*t. He was terrified.

“I think I would have an easy time with him. Just saying, just throwing it out there.”

Bisping has not fought since last November, a first-round KO loss to Kelvin Gastelum ina . short-notice bout. That fight ended up being (most likely) his final fight ever as Bisping announced his retirement in May, citing health concerns and a desire to move on to other opportunities. In his absence, Adesanya has ascended. “The Last Stylebender” made his UFC debut in February, and has racked up four wins and three Performance of the Night bonuses this year. He’s a lock for Breakthrough Fighter of the Year and on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport. Even Bisping agrees that Adesanya’s future is bright, he’s just saying he thinks he could take him.

“He fought Derek Brunson and I thought Derek Brunson was going to give him a hard time but he made easy work of him,” Bisping concluded. “But Derek Brunson looked like sh*t. So now he’s fighting Anderson Silva and if he beats him - and it’s not fair to Israel - people will say, ‘Yeah, but he beat a 43-year-old Anderson Silva.’ It is a tricky one and it’s kind of a lose-lose because if beats him, he’ll get that, and if he loses, he got beat by a 43-year-old Anderson Silva. Fact of the matter is, he deserves the hype. He’s very exciting, he looks good, he fights with an exciting style, he’s entertaining on the microphone, inside the cage, outside I’m on the hype train, I think he’s great. I’m only saying I want to fight him from a competitive standpoint.”

---

MUST-READ STORIES

Blessed. Max Holloway discusses tumultuous year, state of recovery ahead of UFC 231.

Off. Brian Ortega feels there’s something ‘a little bit off’ about Max Holloway’s unknown health issues.

JDS. Junior dos Santos wants to prove he’s the No. 1 heavyweight, starting with Alistair Overeem rematch.

Gracie. Kron Gracie signs with the UFC, meets Alex Caceres at UFC 233.

Swagger. Former WWE champion ‘Jack Swagger’ to make MMA debut at Bellator 214.

---

VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

UFC 230 Rewind.

Embedded.

Ortega luncheon.

Gunnar Nelson in camp.

KSW 46 highlights.

---

LISTEN UP

Anik & Florian. Previewing UFC 231 and the two title fights.

The Co-Main Event. Recapping the UFC doubleheader plus looking too UFC 231.

---

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Respect.

Damn.

Leslie Smith on Samantha Bee coming up.

Beef.

SMH. “Dumb-anick”.

No fear.

Josh Thomson says he hears things. This is wildly unconfirmed.

Chael.

LOL.

Fight poster.

---

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nathaniel Wood (14-3) vs. Andre Ewell (14-4); UFC 232, Dec. 29.

Kron Gracie (4-0) vs. Alex Caceres (14-11, 1 NC); UFC 233, Jan. 26.

Jack Hager (0-0) vs. J.W. Kiser (0-1); Bellator 214, Jan. 26.

---

FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

---

EXIT POLL

---

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it! Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram, and like us on Facebook!