MICHAEL Bisping is all set to spring a shock at UFC 199 and become the UFC middleweight champion of the world, says the Brit’s boxing coach Jason Parillo.
Talking to Australian outlet Submission Radio, Parillo explained that the short-notice nature of the upcoming contest may play in the Brit’s favour as he has no time to overthink or overtrain ahead of the bout.
“He just beat the GOAT, he’s doing movies now. Why not fight for a title?!” he joked.
“We usually start three months before a fight. But he comes in the gym and he performs at the same level as he does the last part of training camp. That’s just Mike.
“He’s got this work ethic…he’s got a resting heart rate of 35 beats per minute. Michael’s got a tank that can go 25 minutes. His last six fights he’s prepared for a five-round fight.”
Bisping was called up to face Rockhold on just two weeks’ notice, but Parillo says Bisping will be ready to go come fight night, despite the shortened training camp.
“We’ve got two weeks to prepare for a fight,” he explained.
“We’ve gotta stay sharp like we did [against] Anderson. He avoided a lot of Anderson’s bulls**t. He’s gotta fight his fight.”
Bisping lost to Rockhold in Sydney back in 2014 but the Brit surprised the American in a very competitive opening round before eventually succumbing to a second-round submission.
And Parillo says ‘The Count’ is going to turn that surprise into shock when he meets Rockhold again on June 4.
“Mike’s gotta take control of this fight and let Luke in his mind right now and sort of be his nemesis,” he explained.
“Because (Luke) thinks that he can whoop Mike. When he finds that that’s not going to happen – when he finds out that Mike’s digging into him and he’s making him pay – we’re going to flip the script.
“Mike believes in himself. Mike’s got the ability to beat him. Anybody can win on any night if you’ve got the right tools to be there. Mike’s got the tools to be there.
“Mike’s a top ten guy. Mike’s a top-four, top-five guy right now. He’s there for a reason. He’s not just there because he was gifted that.
“You know, the promotion, nobody’s been doing that guy favours. He’s fighting top-ten guys every fight. He’s a mentally tough son-of-a-b***h, man. You know, on different levels.”
And while coming into a world title fight isn’t ideal preparation, Parillo days the short-notice prep could actually work in Bisping’s favour.
“For me, we can look at it as a blessing,” he said.
“We spend 10 weeks sometimes and we’re burned out, but Mike needs to do it. Mike’s mind needs to do it, work out hard that time.
“He’s going to be fine. Mike’s gonna give Luke a shock.
“Listen to what I’m saying. Everybody can slap me in the face after if it doesn’t go that way, but he’s gonna win this fight.
“He’s a real deal fighter.”
Britain’s Michael Bisping takes on American Luke Rockhold for the undisputed UFC middleweight championship of the world on Saturday night, June 4 in Los Angeles. Watch the fight live on BT Sport.
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