Michael Bisping sees Diego Lopes’ striking posing problems for Jean Silva at UFC Fight Night 259.
Lopes (26-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) takes on Silva (16-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in Saturday’s Noche UFC (ESPN+) main event at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Bisping wonders if Silva’s Fighting Nerds teammates, Caio Borralho and Mauricio Ruffy, suffering losses this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 258 will impact his mindset at all going up against a former title challenger in Lopes.
“I don’t know – it’s going to be interesting,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Diego Lopes, I am a massive fan of. I love the way he fights, I love the boxing, I love the speed. And Jean Silva, same thing. Jean Silva tends to throw kind of more singular shots, where Diego Lopes puts together beautiful, ferocious combinations. On the ground, I think it’s pretty even. But as we know, Caio Borralho lost, Mauricio Ruffy lost, so maybe that’s kind of developed a chink in their armor. It’s all about the mind. It’s all about confidence, and they really thought they are some kind of special recipe – and of course, they’ve got a tremendous record.
“The reality is, Caio Borralho lost because he went up against one of the very best in the world who might be the next champion. And of course, Benoit Saint Denis beat Mauricio Ruffy. … Absolutely no shame, and it’s not a stain on their training style or what they’re doing in the gym. They just stepped up to that next level. But Jean Silva is going to know that. I feel that that may weigh on him heavily. Diego Lopes has the experience at the higher level, obviously fighting against Alexander Volkanovski. He didn’t win that fight, he’s going to right the wrongs, make little tweaks to his training camp, to his preparations because of course – he’s not giving up on being a champion.”
Bisping ultimately predicted a win for Lopes.
“Diego Lopes, that is my choice,” Bisping said. “I think he’s going to put together combinations. I think on the ground, he can handle Jean Silva. I think he’s going to put together a beautiful combination, catch Jean Silva, drop him, call him back to his feet, and drop him again.”
