Michael Bisping Partially Disagrees With Israel Adesanya's UFC 297 Main Event Prediction: 'Dricus Is Gonna Go At Him Like An Absolute Maniac!'

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping has shared his prediction for UFC 297's main-event.

UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland will make his first title defense against South African powerhouse Dricus du Plessis. 

The pair are largely polar opposites in the Octagon. Where 'Tarzan' relies heavily on boxing, distance-control, and taking fights into deep waters, 'Stillknocks' brutalizes his opponents with his grappling and heavy hands. 

The result has been plenty of differing opinions over who has a better shot of emerging the victor this Saturday night. 

"I Believe He Will Get A Finish" - Michael Bisping

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'The Count' acknowledged that Strickland will have the durability advantage in the cage. 

"I don't think the cardio will be an issue but Sean has an advantage in that department," Bisping said. "So tensions have calmed, right? Sean will not go out there and fight like a maniac; he is a professional at the end of the day. He's gonna fight behind the jab, he's going to try to turn it into a boxing match, and he's going to employ a lot of foot work."

The former 185lbs champ also highlighted du Plessis' dominance, including a whopping 95% finishing rate.

"I think Dricus is going to go at him like a absolute maniac right from the opening bell," Bisping said. "He's finished almost everybody, he's got a 95 per cent finishing rate, what does that tell you? That reinforces the belief that you could just go through anyone and everyone whenever you want."

Ultimately, Bisping sees du Plessis' more powerful striking getting the job done. While he agrees with Israel Adesanya's assertion that 'Stillknocks' will win, he's less convinced that du Plessis will score the title via submission.

"Izzy predicts Dricus by submission," Bisping said. "I don't know about submission, but I do have Dricus winning this fight as the harder hitter. I believe he will get a finish, probably around the round three mark."