After Chris Weidman withdrew from his UFC 199 title fight against Luke Rockhold due to a neck injury, there was much speculation as to whether Michael Bisping or Jacare Souza would get the nod to fight for the middleweight championship on short notice.

Ultimately, it was revealed that Jacare would need to undergo knee surgery after his TKO win over Vitor Belfort, leading the UFC to give Bisping the shot.

Bisping took some shots at Jacare after getting the bout, however that didn’t stop Jacare from giving some praise to Bisping in a recent interview with MMAFighting:

“He’s underestimated by many people.”

“But, I don’t underestimate him. I know what he can do. I believe he will do a great fight with Rockhold. Bisping is tough, deserves respect. If you let him come, he will do it until the end and might win. … At this level we can’t underestimate anyone.”

Despite that, Jacare believes that on June 4th, Rockhold will leave Inglewood, California the middleweight champion.

“Rockhold keeps the title. He has a good win over Bisping, and I believe he will keep the belt.”