Michael Bisping questions Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Alistair Overeem stoppage

Michael Bisping believes Alistair Overeem should’ve been given more of a chance in the final moments of his bout with Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

This past Saturday night (Dec. 7), Rozenstruik vs. Overeem headlined UFC Washington. The bout was widely viewed as eventful and Overeem appeared to be well on his way to a unanimous decision victory. With just four seconds left in the fight, Rozenstruik cracked Overeem with a right hand to send him crashing to the canvas. Overeem suffered a gnarly lip split and referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight.

Bisping weighed in on the stoppage during an edition of his Believe You Me podcast. “The Count” noted that while he respects Miragliotta, he doesn’t agree with the stoppage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IrMu9L6E9A

“Referee Dan Miragliotta, I love Dan Miragliotta. He’s a great guy. I think he’s a very, very good referee and they do a very hard job. They have to make split-second calls in a tough situation. But Overeem wasn’t knocked out,” Bisping said of Alistair Overeem’s recent loss. “Rozenstruik hits him, puts him down, smashes his lip wide open, and then thinks it’s a walk-off knockout. Turns around and just walks away. But Overeem gets up and then walks opposite direction. Walks away from Rozenstruik but even still, he’s still on his feet. He wasn’t knocked out, and then Miragliotta waves the fight off. It was very unusual.”

Bisping noted that he isn’t a fan of fighters appealing bout results, but he feels Alistair Overeem has a legitimate case.

“The record stands, Rozenstruik won that fight. Simple as that. What I’m saying is that if I was Overeem, he’s got grounds to be a little pissed off, a little bit annoyed,” Bisping continued on Alistair Overeem’s defeat. “Possibly — and I’m not a fan of doing this — the appeals. He’s certainly got potential grounds there for a real appeal.”

Do you think Alistair Overeem should’ve been allowed more time to recover?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/10/2019.