Michael Bisping reveals "key" factor likely to determine the outcome of Petr Yan vs. Sean O'Malley

Michael Bisping has revealed what he believes could be a key factor in determining the outcome of the Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan matchup. 'Sugar' is scheduled to face former UFC bantamweight champion Yan at UFC 280 on October 22.

Taking to his YouTube channel, Bisping asserted that Yan's tendency to start slow in his fights could cost him dearly against O'Malley. Bisping cited the example of Yan's most recent fight, which was a split-decision loss to reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in their rematch in April.

'The Count' alluded to the fact that Petr Yan started out slow in the five-round fight. Bisping inferred that he lagged behind on the scorecards due to losing the early rounds and ultimately lost the closely contested fight. Suggesting that 'No Mercy' can't afford to make the same mistake against Sean O'Malley:

"Now, part of the reason -- by the way, I'm not taking anything away from Aljamain [Sterling] -- part of the reason that Petr lost that fight [Sterling rematch] is because he's a slow starter, okay? And that's going to be key for O'Malley in this fight because it's only three rounds."

'The Count' further acknowledged that experienced and calculative fighters analyze their opponent's patterns and gradually up the ante during the fight. Bisping said:

"But Petr Yan, just by style, does like to take his time, make reads, see what his opponent is going to give him, and then he tends to speed up the tempo as the fight progresses. He cannot do that in this [O'Malley] fight."

Watch Bisping discuss the topic at 1:35 in the video below:

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Sean O'Malley's coach foresees Petr Yan being unable to figure out 'Sugar' in three rounds

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Sean O'Malley's coach Tim Welch lauded his star pupil's elusive and unorthodox striking prowess. Welch opined that since the O'Malley-Yan matchup is scheduled for just three rounds instead of five, the matchup would favor 'Sugar' even more.

He believes that Petr Yan, akin to most others, will fail to get a read on Sean O'Malley's movement and fighting style within three rounds. Predicting a win for 'Sugar' against Yan at UFC 280, Welch said:

"Anyone who spars Sean, any high-level guy – a guy who comes in from the UFC to spar Sean or any professional boxer – they're like, 'Holy f***!' Being able to figure him out in 15 minutes is damn near impossible, I think."

Watch Welch's assessment in the video below: