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Michael Bisping named Charles Oliveira as the opponent who could catapault Alexander Volkanovski to the pound-for-pound No. 1 status in the UFC.
Volkanovski is coming off a dominant win against Max Holloway in his last fight at UFC 276. This was the Australian's third win against 'Blessed'. He is currently the pound-for-pound second best fighter in the world, with Kamaru Usman occupying the No.1 spot.
However, Bisping stated that with a win against another top opponent like Oliveira, 'The Great' might make his claim to be the best fighter in the world. He said on his YouTube channel:
"First of all, Oliveira needs to be the next fight, in my humble opinion, for Alexander Volkanovski. That allows him to firmly establish himself, Volkanovski, as the pound-for-pound number 1. Right now, that title does belong to Kamaru Usman."
Watch Michael Bisping talk about Alexander Volkanovski:
'The Count' went on to compare the UFC records of Usman and Volkanovski. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has betterred several elite opponents in the organization, including Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, Tyron Woodley, and more.
Volkanovski, meanwhile, has bettered competition like Max Holoway, Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, and more during his reign at the UFC. Both fighters have been phenomenal inside the octagon and rightfully possess the top two spots in the pound-for-pound list.
Michael Bisping discusses origin of the pound-for-pound system
Michael Bisping recently enlightened his viewers on how the pound-for-pound concept was introduced. Henry Armstrong was a famous boxer in the 1930s. However, he was smaller in size.
His marketing team called him the best fighter in the world, an identity that was reserved for the heavyweight champion. While Joe Louis would have defeated Henry Armstrong if they ever fought, that was only because of his superior size, not because of the skills.
While discussing the system, here's what the former middleweight champion added:
"It all started in boxing in the 1930s. A Hollywood management team behind a great smaller fighter called Henry Armstrong recognized that in the great depression era in America, they needed a great marketing gimmick.
"So, they came up with a new concept to market Armstrong. They said he was the best fighter in the world which had never been said before of anyone who wasn't the heavyweight champion. Yes, Joe Louis would win in a fight between the two of them but only because of his greater size."
