Michael Bisping has highlighted the challenges Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka might face in adjusting to the timezone difference for their upcoming title bout at UFC 275.
During an interaction with Adam Catterall and Nick Peet on BT Sport's YouTube channel, 'The Count' discussed the issues related to the timezone and opined that Prochazka could be at an advantage due to his current training facility being close to Singapore.
Here's what Bisping said:
"You've got to adjust your sleep patterns, it's simple as that. Now, Jiri Prochazka has been training out of Phuket for quite some time, so to travel to Singapore is only an hour for him. He's already on that time zone. That would generally be advantageous but I'm not sure if it's in this occasion because he's fighting first thing in the morning."
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Bisping continued:
"For Glover, all he's gonna do is come out and stay on American time. He lives on the east coast, he's gonna stay on California time, which you can do - try and sleep all day, stay up at night that type of thing but either way it's gonna be a challenge."
However, Bisping further added that regardless of the timezone, the two light heavyweights will be up for the challenge when the octagon door closes and the pair take center stage in front of a packed-out Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Watch Michael Bisping discuss Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka below:
Glover Teixeira on his preparations for Jiri Prochazka fight at UFC 275
Glover Teixeira will look to make a successful first title defense when he takes on Jiri Prochazka at UFC 275 this Saturday. The champion is aware of his challenger's strengths and is training hard to retain the title.
Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Teixeira discussed how he is preparing to fight a dangerous opponent like Prochazka. Here's what the Brazilian said:
"Jiri has a different style and I'm aware of that. We're working on it. We have very good guys to work. Because of those guys, they helped me so much - Ali and Ferenito, they're so fast with the hands and with head movement. They make me very sharp on my boxing."
Watch Glover Teixeira's full interview on The MMA Hour below:
Teixeira captured the light heavyweight title by submitting Jan Blachowicz via rear-naked choke at UFC 267 last October. The champion is currently riding a six-fight win streak in the promotion.
'Denisa', meanwhile, will enter the bout at UFC 275 this weekend on the back of a 12-fight win streak, which includes 11 stoppages.