Could Tony Bellew really end up fighting Michael Bisping in the octagon?
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It's like a Mayweather-McGregor spin-off, but is Bellew-Bisping also a thing now?
The UK rumour mill has been working double-time this week after heavyweight boxer Tony Bellew used a pre-fight press-conference for his boxing rematch with David Haye (which takes place on 5 May), to announce that he also has plans to fight in the octagon.
The Liverpudlian, 35, is a massive MMA fan, and says he even discussed a potential move with UFC owners IMG when he went to watch the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor super fight in Las Vegas last year.
All the talk so far has been around Bellew making the switch in order to take on the British former UFC middleweight Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping in an MMA fight.
But could Bellew v Bisping really happen? Dan Hardy and Nick Peet discuss the possibility on The BBC MMA Show podcast.
“Tony Bellew is down to fight Michael Bisping at the end of this year. 100%”, says Nick Peet.
“I was talking to him on Monday and he revealed he actually had a meeting with IMG in Las Vegas last year and money was on the table for a fight with Michael Bisping.”
Dan Hardy was actually with Bellew in Las Vegas in 2017, and says the boxer's passion for MMA was clear, but that he wasn’t aware negotiations were taking place at the time.
“When we were out in Vegas for the May-Mac fight, I was out there working for TV, and Tony Bellew came over and joined us. Several times we had conversations about him fighting MMA", says Dan.
“Obviously, I didn’t know he was having meetings with IMG around the same time, but just from those conversations, I could tell how keen he was.
"He’s clearly sized up Michael Bisping as well, as a potential opponent, above anybody else. So there’s something about that fight that fascinates him and, my goodness, what a fight that would be.“
How would a potential fight actually go down?
“I think Michael would go back to his old style of fighting - that old ‘ground-and-pound’ style that he used to have, as well as all the submissions that he has, he would absolutely roll that out,” says Dan.
“I’d be interested to see how Bellew deals with low kicks because he does stand with that lead leg very far forward, allowing him to play with the lead hand, which is not ideal for MMA. Especially with the development of the low calf kick.
“So you’ve got to think Bisping would attack the lead leg, try to clinch Bellew up against the fence, and wear him out a little bit. Force him to do things he’s not used to doing which will tax his cardio.”
In fact, Dan Hardy thinks Bisping might be tempted to go toe-to-toe with the Liverpudlian:
“Michael is a high-intensity, high-cardio fighter with a lot of kickboxing experience. He might feel he has something to prove by standing and trading punches with Bellew.”
Why MMA for Tony Bellew?
“Bellew is a massive UFC fan - his knowledge of the UFC is excellent,” says Nick Peet.
“I was asking about his favourite fighters and he was saying, ‘I would never get in there to face Jon Jones,’ and he was talking about Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin. He’s very knowledgeable about this sport and he’s been a fan of it from afar.”
Yet there’s more to the story than Bellew just being a fan of the sport. The boxer believes his power will be the key to his success in MMA, telling Nick: “If I hit someone with 4oz gloves on, it’s naughty!”
Nick continues: “Before he was a boxer, Tony trained as a kickboxer for a couple of years. Bellew’s words are, ‘No one would like to take a leg kick off me – believe it,’ so I just don’t think it’s going to go away.
“If we’re going to follow on from a Mayweather-McGregor thing, then Bellew-Bisping could have some real legs in it."
Tony Bellew beat David Haye in March 2017
But how likely is it?
“If Bellew beats David Haye [in their rematch] on 5 May, there’s no real next logical step for him in boxing. He’s not going to fight an Anthony Joshua, or a Tyson Fury – they’re far too big - so he’s looking for other opportunities," says Nick.
"As a huge MMA fan, he’d love his legacy to say, ‘Yeah, I fought inside the octagon at the end of it.”
Who wins?
“You can’t ask me that,” says Nick. “I grew up with Tony Bellew so obviously Michael Bisping’s getting carried out!”
Dan Hardy is a little more sanguine: “At this point I’d say Michael Bisping because it’s mixed martial arts and it would be his forum, but standing side-by-side, Bellew is a much bigger man than Michael Bisping. He’s taller, he’s rangier, and knowing how hard he works with his boxing career, you have got to think if he applies that to MMA and recruits the right type of coaches, he’s going to be a monster himself.
Dan adds: “He might get a bit of a taste for it if he gets in there with Bisping - win or lose, he might fancy a crossover full-time.”
Nick Peet floats another tantalsiing prospect, if the boxer ever did make the switch: “How about Tony Bellew on a 12-week camp with [UFC welterweight] Darren Till? Now, that would be naughty!”
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