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UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya sees his upcoming light heavyweight title fight against Jan Blachowicz going two ways. Although he revealed one of the two scenarios, the Nigerian-born Kiwi said that he is keeping the other scenario 'close to his chest.'
At UFC 259, Adesanya will attempt to become the fifth 'champ champ' in UFC history when he takes on Blachowicz in the main event. In a recent interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani, Israel Adesanya revealed that he only sees his fight against Blachowicz going two ways.
Adesanya said that the fight could go in a violent direction, which ends with him getting a KO victory over his Polish opponent. However, the 'Last Stylebender' seemed reluctant to divulge the other scenario he has in mind and claimed that he was keeping it 'close to his chest'.
However, when Helwani pried a bit more, Adesanya acknowledged that he might be looking for a submission victory. According to Adesanya, there are a lot of questions being asked about his grappling. He feels submitting an opponent with a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu like Blachowicz would put all those doubts to rest.
"There are many ways this can happen. Look, I can even lose, god forbid. I'm just saying, it's different timelines. I see this happening two ways. The first one is close to my chest but the second one ends badly, violently. It's going to be a violent car crash because he's over-eager," Israel Adesanya told Ariel Helwani.
Will we see a different Israel Adesanya inside the Octagon at UFC 259?
The fact that Adesanya is envisioning a submission victory against someone like Blachowicz is very interesting because fans are used to seeing a different version of Israel Adesanya inside the Octagon. The Last Stylebender is known for his mastery of range, slick movement, effective striking, and counter-punching.
Could we see a different version of Israel Adesanya on Saturday? Will he try to force the clinch and attempt takedowns in the fight against a much bigger opponent, and more importantly, will that work in his favor? All these questions will soon be answered in the main event of UFC 259
