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Israel Adesanya has just offered his UFC 298 predictions for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria and Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa. Naturally, 'The Last Stylebender' favors both Volkanovski and Whittaker to emerge victorious on Saturday evening.
In a YouTube video posted on the FREESTYLEBENDER page, Adesanya outlined how he expects both fights to play out. For reference, Volkanovski is a frequent training partner of his, with both of them working under the direction of Eugene Bareman, who is often mistaken for the Australian's head coach.
Meanwhile, both Whittaker and Costa are past opponents of Adesanya's. As the co-main event precedes the headliner, he first predicted the outcome of the Whittaker-Costa bout.
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"I feel Rob will win by decision, UD. He's going to land a couple of takedowns, depends on who shows up. He might rock Costa, but I don't think so, I don't think so."
Adesanya is not mistaken for doubting Whittaker's ability to truly hurt or finish Costa, as 'The Reaper' isn't known for being a consistent finisher. In fact, he hasn't finished anyone since 2017, when he TKO'd Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza.
Regarding the main event, Adesanya expects Volkanovski to be dominant:
"Alexander 'The Great' Volkanovski. I'm going to go late stoppage, round four. Yeah, round four, KO or TKO. I think he's just going to exhaust him. It's different when you're in the championship rounds but you have Alexander Volkanovski in your face."
Check out Israel Adesanya's UFC 298 predictions (9:50 and 12:44):
Israel Adesanya's hiatus from MMA was short-lived
Following a shocking loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on Sept. 10, 2023, Israel Adesanya announced a hiatus from the sport. 'The Last Stylebender' cited a need to refresh himself and likely also took the opportunity to heal from nagging injuries. Regardless, the hiatus was extremely short-lived.
His sabbatical began in September but ended in mid-February, with his coach Eugene Bareman announcing that the former middleweight champion is merely awaiting a call from the UFC to get his next fight booked.
