Michael Bisping believes that Alexander Volkanovski should not be subjected to the UFC’s historical curse for fighters aged 35 and over. The track record for fighters in the weight class below 185 pounds who have won UFC titles at this age has been notably low. Volkanovski, who is 35 years old, is preparing to defend his featherweight title for the sixth time against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, which will be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and available for viewing on pay-per-view, ESPN, and ESPN+.
Bisping acknowledged the existence of this statistic but emphasized that many of the fighters who contribute to this data were challengers rather than champions. He argued that it is unfair to judge an individual based solely on numbers and statistics. According to Bisping, Volkanovski is an exceptional fighter who has consistently proven himself by defeating top-level opponents in impressive fashion. Therefore, Bisping does not believe that the curse applies to Volkanovski.
Despite Volkanovski’s recent knockout loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October, Bisping maintains that this should not diminish Volkanovski’s credibility, especially considering the circumstances under which he accepted the fight on short notice. Bisping acknowledged that moving up a weight class on short notice was a risky decision, but he believes that in order to achieve greatness, fighters must be willing to take such risks.
Bisping is confident that Volkanovski’s loss to Makhachev does not reflect his true abilities as a featherweight fighter. He believes that Saturday night’s fight will provide further evidence of Volkanovski’s skills, and he does not believe that Volkanovski’s age will have any impact on the outcome.
According to the Source mmajunkie.usatoday.com