Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be moving up to light heavyweight to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the 205-pound strap, but “The Last Stylebender” plans to rely on his skills instead of his weight against “Polish Power.”
That’s why Adesanya will likely walk into the cage as the lightest fighter in the division, something that could present new problems for the ex-kickboxer. That’s according to former light heavyweight No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira.
“He’s good and would get to the top, for sure,” Teixeira told MMA Fighting. “He’s good as hell, good athlete, good fighter, super intelligent, and for sure would get to the top, but the weight [difference], everything counts. I know that because I train with heavyweights, and it’s hard. The fatigue, the pressure is different.”
Teixeira could conceivably find himself fighting Adesanya if “The Last Stylebender” is able to stop Blachowicz next March. He’ll first need to hold off Thiago Santos in the UFC Vegas 13 main event this weekend in Las Vegas.
Then again, Adesanya has also been flirting with a heavyweight super fight against former light heavyweight Jon Jones, so it’s getting increasingly difficult to predict how each division is going to shake out over the next six months.