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Bisping would give Anderson Silva problems - Rashad

Michael Bisping is coming off a win against Jorge Rivera © Getty Images

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• Profile: Michael Bisping | Anderson Silva

Michael Bisping's claims for a UFC middleweight title encounter with Anderson Silva have been given significant credence, by former light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.

Bisping is currently in the best form of his career, winning four of his last five fights, and he is expected to step into the Octagon with former No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen in his next bout. Should he win that potential encounter, the Briton will have every right to knock down Dana White's door demanding a title shot.

Evans was the first man to inflict defeat on Bisping, and the pair have competed in different weight divisions for the majority of their careers. However, Evans still remembers how tight his clash with Bisping was, and he does not doubt that the Brit would give Silva a hard time.

"His takedowns have gotten a lot better, I have been impressed by that," Evans told Fighters Only. "It's one thing to be able to hit a takedown - anybody at this level in MMA, we all know how to take someone down. But it's the little things that make your takedown effective and one of the things is your transition from your punches to your takedown.

"Bisping has gotten really effective at that transition and that happens to be Anderson Silva's Achilles heel, the takedown, so it could be a competitive fight.

"And another thing that Bisping does is, sometimes he just doesn't care, you know? He just doesn't care, he just goes for it. So for people to say it wouldn't be a fight or it wouldn't be close? I wouldn't say that about someone like Michael Bisping."

Evans and Bisping were far from being buddies after they finished their battle back at UFC 78, and "Suga" insists he is not championing Bisping's cause as a favour.

"I am not some huge Bisping fan, I just think he can scrap and he is very competitive," Evans said. "Put him in with anyone and he will give it a competitive fight. But then Anderson is something else… put it this way, put Bisping in with Anderson and it would be interesting."

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