Michael Bisping Believes Khabib vs. Poirier Lacks Hype

Michael Bisping believes the upcoming title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier has no hype.

Nurmagomedov and Poirier are set to collide in a lightweight title unification fight in the main event of UFC 242 which takes place September 7.

Unlike Nurmagomedov’s last fight with Conor McGregor, the buildup to this upcoming contest is more respectful with none of the participants talking trash to each other. While that’s all well and good, Bisping believes it’s affecting the anticipation and excitement for UFC 242.

“No drama, no pointing, no shouting, no swearing,” Bisping said on his podcast (via BJ Penn). “Just respect, which is great to see but it’s not getting the hype. It’s not getting nowhere near the hype.

“As big as a star as what Khabib is, cause he is a huge star he’s got a massive social media following now, he’s all over the world he’s world famous, but I just don’t think that’s gonna deliver as much. Just simply because fireworks sell. Simple as that. It does, it’s fighting and it does help sell the fight.”

As for the fight itself, Bisping believes Nurmagomedov will come out on top. But that doesn’t mean he’s counting out Poirier:

“When I saw Dustin and Khabib square up incidentally, I did notice they’re very similar in stature and size but Khabib looked a lot thicker,” Bisping added. “I think Dustin’s got a tough fight. In fact, everybody knows that.

“”But the Dustin Poirier that showed up against Max Holloway, [Poirier] definitely has a chance in that fight. You’ve gotta lean towards Khabib, but [Poirier] has a chance.”

Do you agree with Bisping?