Michael Bisping wouldn’t be surprised if Israel Adesanya is frustrated by his UFC 281 stoppage loss, but doesn’t think it was early.

Last Saturday night at UFC 281, Israel Adesanya was beaten by Alex Pereira in the main event. ‘Stylebender’ was up 3-1 on the scorecards but in the final round, ‘Poatan’ secured a TKO finish to capture the UFC middleweight championship.

While many think it was a legitimate win, others have questioned Marc Goddard’s stoppage – including Adesanya himself.

We’re almost certainly going to see a rematch but in reality, that doesn’t help Adesanya right now.

Michael Bisping, another former middleweight king, gave his thoughts during a recent episode of his podcast.

“To be honest, I don’t think it was stopped early,” Bisping said. “However, I think there’s a debate and discussion to have. If I were Israel, I’d be pretty annoyed. I love Marc Goddard, he’s one of the best in the business, I’m not saying that. But from a fighter’s perspective, if I want to have my belt taken off me, I want to be been choked unconscious and left on the floor in Madison Square Garden. That’s exactly what GSP did to me.

Adesanya shoots for the stars

“I think at that level of the game, you can let it go a little bit longer, but fighter’s safety is absolutely paramount. Izzy was looking at the floor, but he was on the feet and kind of moving the head. So that is somewhat defensive. But still, nonetheless, it still wasn’t a bad stoppage.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

There’s been no confirmation regarding Pereira’s first title defence but with Robert Whittaker being set to square off with Paulo Costa, the coast is seemingly clear for Adesanya to step in.

Do you think Alex Pereira’s win over Israel Adesanya was an early stoppage? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!