Middleweight champion Michael Bipsing earned his title shot at UFC 199 against Luke Rockhold by defeating former titleholder Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 84. Silva has been booked to face the fast rising Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 212 on June 3. If Gastelum can defeat Silva, he’ll move into contender status. Bisping gave his take on the UFC 212 co-main event during a recent appearance on UFC Tonight.
The 41-year-old Silva is coming off a decision win over Derek Brunson in his last outing. The 25-year-old Gastelum is on a three-fight winning streak and is undefeated as a middleweight. While Silva may be past his prime, Bisping warns that he’s still a very dangerous opponent.
“Anybody that thinks Anderson is past it, they’d be in for a rude surprise. For Kelvin Gastelum, it’s very important that he doesn’t underestimate Anderson Silva. Anderson Silva still has the potential to knock anyone out,” said Bisping. “In his last fight, we saw him. It was a close fight, but Anderson still won the fight. I thought he could have won that fight a lot easier.”
The match-up is a bout between the past and the future. The future eventually wins the battle, but he past never goes away easily.
“Of course, Kelvin has youth on his side. I actually think he has momentum on his side as well. He has confidence on his side. Anderson, of course, we know that he’s a legend. He’s the greatest of all time, but everybody has a sell-by date,” said the champ.
“This is a great fight for Kelvin to prove that he’s possibly the next contender. And it’s a great fight for Anderson to prove that he still deserves to be considered among the elite.”
