[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] predicts an emphatic performance from [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] at UFC 305.
Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) challenges middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in Saturday’s main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Adesanya will look to become a three-time UFC middleweight champion. After five title defenses in his first reign, “The Stylebender” lost his title to Alex Pereira at UFC 281. He was then able to avenge his loss to Pereira with arguably his greatest career-knockout at UFC 287.
However, Adesanya would then lose his belt to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, and proceeded to take a hiatus after. In the meantime, Du Plessis claimed the title from Strickland at UFC 297, setting up his grudge match with Adesanya.
“I’m expecting a performance from Israel Adesanya, like a proper performance like you’ve seen in the Paulo Costa performance where he goes out and just does it in impressive fashion – only because I think he’s always going to have them skills.,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel.
“Dricus is very awkward, very unorthodox. He’s got awkward pressure, which is very, very hard for people to deal with, and we’ve seen awkward pressure from Strickland give Izzy problems. But that doesn’t happen to Izzy twice. There’s no way that fight looks the same.”
Volkanovski sees his City Kickboxing teammate coming back with a vengeance. Adesanya has never lost two straight.
“I think Israel Adesanya is going to put on that type of performance where he gets a crazy finish, and that’s saying something because Dricus is no joke,” Volkanovski said. “Dricus is very strong, wrestler, grappler, so Izzy is going to have to be careful of Dricus trying to take him down because I reckon he’s going to have that freakish strength, and he’s got good D’Arce (chokes) and good (other) chokes as well.
“So you’re going to have to be careful. … I feel like something big is coming – I mean, a big finish. I mean highlight-reel Izzy that we’ve seen. That type of finish that we’re going to see from Izzy, which is going to be huge, which just puts him – obviously he’s always been a superstar, just puts him right back where he was not that long ago.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 305.