While he expects Israel Adesanya to do well at light heavyweight, Glover Teixeira believes the middleweight champion will have to deal with some big differences.
Teixeira takes on Thiago Santos this weekend in a bout that was initially expected to determine who would face Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title next.
However, UFC president Dana White recently revealed that Adesanya would be moving up to challenge Blachowicz in an attempt to become a two-weight champion.
And Teixeira — currently on a three-fight winning streak — believes the extra 20 pounds will play a major factor for Adesanya despite his skillset.
“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.”
As for Blachowicz? Teixeira didn’t expect him to become champion — at least in the way that he did so following a second-round TKO win over Dominick Reyes.
However, given that the fight was entirely on the feet, Teixeira warned Blachowicz that he can’t just stand still should they face each other in the future.
“He can’t stand still like that against me,” Teixeira added. “He has to move. If he doesn’t move, he’s going down. (Blachowicz and Reyes) didn’t shoot once in two rounds. I won’t just stand and trade with the guy, I’ll mix it up with strikes and takedowns, and that confuses him.”
At 41, this may well be the Brazilian’s last chance at becoming the light heavyweight champion and he could go one step closer with a win over the returning Santos on Saturday.
What do you make of Teixeira’s comments?