Michael Bisping flip-flopped in his UFC Fight Night 260 headliner pick, but ultimately leaned towards the ex-title challenger.
Dominick Reyes (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) takes on Carlos Ulberg (12-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in a pivotal light heavyweight clash on Saturday from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
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Bisping sees massive title implications in a matchup between two streaking contenders.
“If (Ulberg) beats Dominick Reyes, the man’s fighting for a belt – simple as that,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Nine fights, beating some good opposition, and if Dominick Reyes, the comeback king, can get this done, then that will be sensational, as well, because Dominick Reyes – we all know the story: He fought Jon Jones. A lot of people thought he beat Jon Jones.
“Regardless, on the record books, he lost. Then he got knocked out against Jan Blachowicz viciously, gets knocked out against Jiri Prochazka with a spinning back elbow – a vicious knockout. And then he got knocked out against Ryan Spann, as well. It looked like the end of the road for Dominick Reyes, but then the man comes back big with three knockouts.”
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Bisping initially picked Ulberg to win, but switched to Reyes after some thought.
“Carlos Ulberg is a really, really good striker – very tall, very quick, very slick,” Bisping said. “(He) trains at City Kickboxing with Israel Adesanya, some of the best training partners in the world. Dominick Reyes hits harder – simple as that. He does hit harder. He’s got experience at the highest level. He’s got better wrestling than Carlos Ulberg, as well.
“I think we’ll see Dominick Reyes use the wrestling in this one. As I said, the knockout power is always there. … I’m going to go with Carlos Ulberg. He’s got the cleaner striking. I don’t know. It’s one of those, honestly, you could flip a coin. I’m going to say Dominick Reyes. That’s my gut feeling.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Bisping picks Dominick Reyes over Carlos Ulberg at UFC Perth