Adesanya On Blachowicz: I’ve Had Harder Fights At Middleweight
Ahead of his light heavyweight debut, Israel Adesanya says Jan Blachowicz doesn’t pose a major threat to him.
Adesanya will challenge Blachowicz for the 205lbs title in the UFC 259 main event, which also features two more title fights, the women’s featherweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson, and Petr Yan defending his bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling.
No Additional Muscle
‘The Last Stylebender’ plans to move up to light heavyweight at his walk-around weight and doesn’t plan on putting on additional muscle for his fight. Speaking to Combat TV (as transcribed by The Mac Life), Adesanya said that he’s focused on his opponent, rather than the weight class.
“There’s not much that’s changed,” Adesanya said. “We’re not training for a weight class, we’re training for an opponent and a certain style of fighting. That’s pretty much what we’re focusing on, so that’s the same shit as every other time.”
Blachowicz Not A Major Threat
As a result, Blachowicz will have a size advantage on the night, but his physical traits aren’y anything Adesanya hasn’t seen before. The middleweight champion said that although he respects certain aspects of ‘Prince of Cieszyn’s’ game, he doesn’t see him as a major threat.
“I’ve had harder fights to be honest, even at middleweight,” Adesanya stated. “On the threat meter, out of 10, he’s a solid competitor so maybe a 7/7.5?. An honest score, I’d give him that, there’s certain things I’m worried about but just another guy, just another day.”
Should Adesanya win at UFC 259, he will become the fifth UFC fighter to simultaneously hold belts in two different weight classes, after Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes, Daniel Cormier, and Henry Cejudo.
Adesanya last fought Paulo Costa in the main event at UFC 253, beating the Brazilian through TKO in the second round. In the evening’s co-main event, Blachowicz TKO’d Dominick Reyes to win the vacant light heavyweight belt.
Who do you think wins the light heavyweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259?
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