UFC: Michael Bisping predicts ‘Chito’ Vera wins title in 2021; picks his fighter and fight of the year
- ‘I think we may see a new 135-pound champ in 2021 and it will be Vera,’ says Hall of Famer Bisping
- Weili-Jedrzejczyk tops former champ’s list for greatest bout of 2020, with Figueiredo and Holland neck and neck for best fighter
The UFC brings the curtain down on a tumultuous 2020 with the UFC Vegas 17 card from Las Vegas on Saturday and Hall of Famer/commentator Michael Bisping believes there is still more drama to be played out.
Turn your attention to the co-main event, says Bisping, and you’ll see the future of the UFC’s bantamweight division in Ecuador’s Marlon Vera (16-6-1), who takes on Brazil’s former featherweight champ Jose Aldo (28-7).
“I think we may see a new 135-pound champ in 2021 and it will be ‘Chito’ Vera,” Bisping tells SCMP MMA from his California home.
“He’s the real deal. I’m a little bit biased as he trains with [Bisping’s former coach] Jason Parillo but that’s how I know – I see him train. I see what he is capable of and he’s legit.”
The Vera-Aldo fight is one of many features on a card that promises fireworks elsewhere, not least in the match-up between newbie American welterweight knockout artist Khaos Williams (11-1) and Brazil’s Michel Pereira (24-11, two no contests), and also when American fan favourite Stephen “Wonderboy” Thomspon (15-4-1) meets compatriot Geoff “Handz of Steel” Neal (13-2) in the welterweight clash that tops the card.