"Lower center of gravity" - Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith explain why "ball of muscle" Alexander Volkanovski might pose a threat to Islam Makhachev

Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith believe that featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski could prove to be a problem for newly crowned lightweight king Islam Makhachev.

On the latest episode of the Believe You Me podcast, Bisping and 'Lionheart' discussed the potential superfight between Volkanovski and Makhachev.

Smith said that Volkanovski's smaller size could prove to be advantageous in a possible showdown against the Dagestani:

"Volkanovski might have a decent chance to keep it competitive because of his size and his strength. He's kind of just a little ball of muscle that might be hard to get under."

'The Count' echoed Smith's sentiments and said Volkanovski might gain additional strength while competing as a lightweight:

"Islam was calling him the short guy, wasn't he? But because he is short, the lower center of gravity and Volkanovski is a strong little bast*rd and he's going to be going up a weight class, so he might be even stronger. So yeah, that's an interesting fight."

Catch the full episode of the Believe You Me podcast below:

Islam Makhachev recently competed against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280. The Dagestani made light work of 'Do Bronx' and submitted him in the second round.

In his post-fight interview, Makhachev, along with Khabib Nurmagomedov, challenged Alexander Volkanovski to a superfight in Australia. Volkanovski then entered the octagon and accepted the challenge.

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Beneil Dariush weighs in on Alexander Volkanovski vs. Islam Makhachev

UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush appears to disagree with Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith.

According to the 33-year-old, Volkanovski's smaller stature will work against him as he'll likely face problems in the grappling department at lightweight. During an appearance on Submission Radio, Dariush said:

"I mean, obviously, I don't want to discredit him [Alexander Volkanovski] but he might be too small for 155lbs. I'm sure people said that to him at 145lbs too. We have a big weight advantage on him too. Nobody really tries to grapple with him at '45. I haven't seen anyone really try to take him down. The fact that he'd be fighting a lot of grapplers in my division... I think it's so different and I think he would have some problems with that."

Catch the full interview below:

Dariush was hoping to get a title shot with his impressive win over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280. However, with Volkanovski jumping into the mix, it apppears that the Iranian-born fighter will have to wait a bit longer in order to fight for UFC gold.