Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping — who knows a thing or two about UFC title fight upsets — wants everyone to know that while Julianna Peña’s win over Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 was an upset, fight fans shouldn’t consider it the biggest UFC title fight upset.
“In terms of the Peña-Nunes upset — which it was an upset, it was a huge upset, a lot of people said it’s one of the biggest upsets of all time that we’ve ever seen in the UFC. I disagree,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “I think Julianna Peña should be extremely proud of herself. Of course, she just became a champion, she just realized a dream. She defeated the female GOAT. An incredible achievement, BUT it’s not the biggest upset.
“Matt Serra beating Georges St-Pierre, I think it tops (Peña-Nunes). I think according to the bookies it was the biggest upset of all time and then when you consider the fact that Matt Serra wasn’t even a current UFC fighter. Matt Serra at the time had been released from the UFC, came back, won “The Ultimate Fighter,” that’s how he got a shot at the belt, and I don’t think anyone gave him a hope in hell of beating Georges St-Pierre and he went out there and absolutely demolished him. So that’s my No. 1.”
Serra joined “The Comeback” season of “The Ultimate Fighter” after a loss to Karo Parisyan at UFC 53. At the time Serra appeared on “TUF” he was 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the UFC.
According to Odds Shark, the closing odds for the Serra vs St-Pierre matchup at UFC 69 had the champion at -1300 and the challenger at +850. Serra won the fight via TKO at 3:25 of the first stanza.
The closing odds on the UFC 269 broadcast had Nunes as a -1000 favorite and Peña as a +650 underdog.
Bisping believe if the two run things back it will end much like the rematch between Serra and St-Pierre, which saw the title go back to St-Pierre at UFC 83 via second-round TKO.
“I think she’ll come back and I think she’ll fight Julianna Peña and I think she beats Julianna in a rematch,” Bisping said. “In that first round, she outclassed Julianna. She was the better person, she put her down twice, she controlled her in the clinch, she controlled her on the ground. It was a good round for Nunes but she got tired. She got tired, you could clearly see it. And also she showed a little naivety, she showed a little lack of experience, she showed a little – she didn’t show the best fight I.Q.”
As for Bisping’s experience in UFC title fight upsets, he was a +400 underdog when he knocked out Luke Rockhold (-600) in the first round to win the UFC middleweight title at UFC 199.
About the author
