Michael Bisping believes Israel Adesanya could become a bigger UFC star than Conor McGregor.
The 30-year-old has recorded seven wins from as many fights since joining the UFC two years ago, with his most recent success coming against Robert Whittaker for the middleweight belt at UFC 243 earlier this month.
Speaking about Adesanya on his Believe You Me podcast , Bisping said: “He’s a star, he’s got charisma, all that type of stuff. And right now he’s poised to set to be possibly the biggest star in the UFC.
"He could even overtake McGregor at this rate. He really could.
"Well for one, he hasn’t got the negativity surrounding him. He hasn’t made all the mistakes. Now, who knows? He might go down that route, but I doubt it.”
Meanwhile, McGregor's Straight Blast Gym teammate John Phillips believes the UFC star could return to the Octagon soon.
The Notorious has not fought in the promotion since his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov over a year ago, but has appeared to be gearing up for a return in recent months.
Phillips told The Express: "“I don’t really know. Obviously when I was over there, Conor wasn’t really there that much.
“But it’s a part of Conor’s life to always train. So he’d train regardless if he’s got a fight or not. Only Conor knows [when he’ll be back]. But I’m sure he’ll be back in action pretty soon.”
UFC President Dana White recently revealed that McGregor is likely to fight early in 2020, but it looks unlikely that it will be in a rematch against Nurmagomedov.
White said: "That's [Khabib rematch] possible too down the road.
“I think Conor would fight somebody else before that.
"The Ferguson fight would have to happen, there’s a lot of possibilities.
“To sit here now and say who is going to fight who; I don’t know until this whole thing plays out. [The] Masvidal-Diaz winner is in the mix, too.”
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