Michael Bisping blames "air of arrogance" from Israel Adesanya's team for middleweight title loss to Sean Strickland 

Sean Strickland shocked the mixed martial arts world as he defeated Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at UFC 293 to capture the middleweight title. UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes that the arrogance of 'The Last Stylebender's corner led to his defeat.

Speaking on TNT Sports' Fight Week, the former middleweight champion stated:

"I think there was certainly an air of arrogance in the corner of Israel Adesanya and from Izzy himself. Even when he was dropped in the first round and very, very close to being finished, he had kind of a smug look on his face like, 'God bless this guy, he landed a shot. Oh, overhand? Oh, okay, no worries.' No concern, no look of stress, no worry, no realization that he’s in there with a real threat."

Check out Michael Bisping's comments on Israel Adesanya's loss to Sean Strickland below (starting at the 7:18 mark):

Many observers, including newly-named UFC CEO Dana White, have shared that they believe Adesanya overlooked Strickland as an opponent. While 'The Last Stylebender' was defeated via unanimous decision, he appears in line to fight for the middleweight title in his next bout as the promotion frontman shared that he believes the two-time champion deserves an immediate rematch.

Michael Bisping criticizes Israel Adesanya's UFC 293 game plan

Israel Adesanya suffered a unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes his loss was a result of a poor game plan from his corner, stating:

"The reason he almost got the finish in Round 1 was because Izzy was moving backward, and Izzy relies on a lot of fast footwork so you throw an attack on him, he moves back out of the way. Well, when you've backed up all the way to the fence, there's no further to move back and you can't even lean back as far and that was his own demise. That's because he was backing up the whole time."

Bisping continued:

"You don't win fights by backing up. Granted, we have seen masterclasses... you've got to have some forward pressure as well, and dancing away all night, backfooting and backtracking, and not throwing very much is no surprise. That is not the recipe to win a fight."

Check out Michael Bisping's comments on Israel Adesanya's game plan below (starting at the 3:52 mark):

Adesanya's loss marked just the third defeat of his mixed martial arts career. The two-time middleweight champion previously expressed a desire to fight at UFC 300, however, it remains unclear if a rematch with Strickland will occur at the highly-anticipated event that will take place in 2024.