Michael Bisping has always believed he could beat UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and, although he’s been in retirement for the past two years, ‘The Count’ is still confident he could topple ‘The Last Stylebender’ with the right training camp.

Speaking on a recent episode of MMA Tonight (h/t BJPenn.com), Bisping said he could beat Adesanya ‘pretty easily’ if he was still an active fighter.

“Listen, and here’s the real thing, if I was still fighting, I’d take that belt off him [Israel Adesanya] pretty easily, but I’m not,” Bisping said. “So, listen, I like Adesanya, I’m a massive fan of the guy. He’s a great personality, he’s a great fighter and I’m a fan of Yoel as well. It’s going to be a good one.”

Speaking of Adesanya’s upcoming title bout with Yoel Romero at UFC 248, Bisping, who was recently inducted into the UFC Hall Fame, believes the Nigerian-New Zealander will be taking the middleweight belt back home to Auckland.

“Stylebender on the flip side, he’s got the height, the reach, the range, the diversity of strikes, he’s got excellent footwork, he does pivot off well,” Bisping said. “I don’t know who is going to win but if I had to put money on this, I’d definitely lean towards Israel Adesanya.”

UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero will take place this Saturday, March 7 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.