In the wake of Jessica Andrade’s emphatic slam-induced knockout of Rose Namajunas, there are still some observers who are not completely sold on the new strawweight champ, and it appears we can count Michael Bisping among them.
Andrade became the new women’s strawweight champion last Saturday after a fight-ending sequence where she picked up Namajunas in the second round of their fight, slamming her down on her head and knocking her out cold to claim the belt.
However, before the finish, the Brazilian had been getting picked apart on the feet by Namajunas, who successfully defended two slam attempts in the first round. Based on the first round, Bisping believes that Namajunas would come out on top if they were to meet again.
During a recent edition of Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast, Bisping asserted that the knockout resulting from Andrade’s slam was “kind of a fluke.”
“Listen, Jessica Andrade is now the champ,” Bisping said. “I didn’t see it happening, to be honest. You know what? I think, and I shouldn’t say this because it’s doing a disservice to Jessica Andrade and maybe even being disrespectful, which I’m not trying to do. It was kind of a fluke. Do you know what I mean? That doesn’t happen. She’s done that move a lot, generally people don’t land on the head and get knocked out. That’s not to say in a rematch she couldn’t win, but I’d definitely favor Rose in the rematch after what I saw in that first round and a half. That said, as I said that does come off a little bit disrespectful. That’s not my intention.”