UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping is convinced that Salahdine Parnasse is a legitimate lightweight title contender after his UFC Fight Night 287 debut win.
Bisping was on color commentary Saturday when Parnasse (24-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) blitzed through Dan Hooker (24-15 MMA, 14-11 UFC) for a first-round TKO at Accor Arena in Paris. The former two-division KSW champion was never in trouble before ending the fight inside three minutes, and now he's another compelling player at 155 pounds.
How far can he go? Based off what Bisping saw from this performance, it's all the way to the top.
"To take out Dan Hooker in the fashion that he did, to do it so quickly, to make it look easy – he just put the entire lightweight division on notice," Bisping said on the UFC
Fight Night 287 broadcast. "He's right to call out Max Holloway and talk about the BMF and being the champion and all the rest of it, because that is what he is: He is championship material.
"The French know it. They have another potential champion on their hands. That's crazy what he did to Dan Hooker. You know how tough Dan is. He's been around forever. Yeah, he's won some and lost some, but he's never, never been beaten like that."
Bisping's broadcast partner Paul Felder was in lockstep when it came to the praise of Parnasse. Felder is a former opponent of Hooker, and he said for Parnasse to do what he did, speaks volumes.
"To go out there and just take care of business in that fashion, in that amount of time and be cool, calm and collected and not let to seem this moment bother him for a second – this guy is a real contender," Felder said. "And a future absolute star in the UFC."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Bisping: Salahdine Parnasse put 'division on notice' in UFC Paris debut
