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Israel Adesanya always has his eyes on the Light Heavyweight division. Though the Middleweight kingpin has made it clear that his current intentions are focused on 185-pound greatness, he’s tried to claim two-division champion status previously, and at some point, he probably will again.
In short, “Stylebender” has a vested interest in UFC 275’s main event, which pits Glover Teixeira opposite Jiri Prochazka with a belt on the line. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Adesanya offered up his thoughts on the match up.
“One thing I like about people like Jiri is they just come out of nowhere and just take a whole new aspect of martial arts and immerse themselves in it and then we get to witness it and see the devastation,” Adesanya said (via MMANews). “When it comes time to fight the striking is awkward, but it works for him he’s long, he’s rangy, fights hands down, good looks.”
“Glover’s much more intelligent with his striking, he is much more textbook, is much more disciplined too,” he continued. “Jiri’s much more expressive with striking and also they both come forward and fight so who can make the other person take more of a back step and will work.”
As for an actual prediction, Adesanya leans towards “The Czech Samurai,” partly because of the style match up. Notably, Prochazka enters his first title shot as a nearly 2-1 favorite over the Brazilian, though Teixeira is no stranger to winning as the underdog.
“If I’m gonna bet I’m gonna go with Jiri, young, energy, tall, rangy, awkward, Glover’s had problems with them the past was why we fight because now we’re in the present,” Adesanya explained. “So he has to be patient.”
We’ll find out tomorrow evening.
Insomnia
Teixeira is simply the man. Win or lose tomorrow night, him winning the belt was a great moment for the sport.
Never forget when Glover Teixeira found the time in between knocking Anthony Smith’s teeth out to apologize to him for doing so.
One of the best human beings in the sport. pic.twitter.com/nPeZmbPf7c
— Chucky V (@Chucky_Cheese7) June 9, 2022
Dan Henderson appreciation post:
— D (@darrentill2) June 10, 2022
Click through for a killer thread of awesome MMA photos from 2022!
— SoldierOfRomero (@SoldierOfRomero) June 10, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov wins this week’s Twitter exchange with “El Cucuy.”
An absolute bummer for kickboxing fans:
We got confirmation. There will be NO INTERNATIONAL STREAM for ‘THE MATCH 2022’.
K-1, RISE & Nobuyuki Sakakibara failed to come to terms with any international streaming service for the biggest card of the year. The card will be exclusively available on ABEMA PPV.#THEMATCH2022 pic.twitter.com/TGepclioSS
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) June 10, 2022
Stephen Thompson showing off his coordination and athleticism.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
I think Taila Santos is the second most dangerous title defense yet for Valentina Shevchenko that she’s faced at 125 lbs., but when you consider what happened to No. 1 …
Valentina bullied Andrade pic.twitter.com/oNA4iPC0Pv
— Weili’s Load (@_MMAMindset) June 9, 2022
Jack Della Maddalena has some crisp kickboxing, and this thread has highlights from his entire pro career.
July 8 2017
Della TKOs Ty Duncan 19 seconds in Rd2
Wins Eternal MMA Welterweight Belt pic.twitter.com/PNuEOJeE6N
— Ocelot MMA (@Ocelot_MMA) June 9, 2022
Our second successful slam out of back control this week! Bury your heads, fellow backpackers!
That was siiiiick pic.twitter.com/c1h1E2tKHC
— Matysek (@Matysek88) June 9, 2022
Random Land
GATOR WRASTLING!
Midnight Music: I knew the following song as a Circle Jerks track, but I only recently heard the original. Both are sick!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.