Jack Hermansson has gotten close to UFC title contention before but still never quite reached that pinnacle in his career.
With a main event fight booked against Sean Strickland at UFC Vegas 47 this weekend, Hermansson hopes to move closer to that goal with another win while also acknowledging that he’s one of the last fighters available who hasn’t already faced middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Also, Hermansson thinks that Adesanya is actually the most difficult opponent, particularly if it hits the ground where he’s strongest.
” I feel like [Israel Adesanya] is the greatest threat to me in this division,” Hermansson stated to MMA Fighting. “Because I believe that if I can establish top position, I’m the most dangerous guy in our division. Even though [Derek] Brunson has great wrestling skills, you need to set up the take downs. As you can see in [Brunson’s] his first fight, Brunson was desperate to win and could not close the distance against Adesanya. If we get to the ground, I believe that I will have a stronger top game.
“I think that’s the easiest way to beat Adesanya but it doesn’t mean it’s easy if it’s not in your arsenal. You have be a really, really skilled grappler to be able to do that. I think I’m the one to pull it off.”
Although it was not a match or a bout, Hermansson had the opportunity to practice his grappling skills after he faced rising UFC star Khamzat Chimiaev in Sweden last November.
Chimaev is a star in this sport since his debut in UFC 2020. Hermansson was happy to have the opportunity to wrestle him, even though it was a match of freestyle wrestling where he was clearly at an advantage.
“We have to consider it was my first freestyle wrestling match ever,” Hermansson revealed. I come from Greco-Roman heritage. I’ve never done a freestyle match before. So I went into his game. It could have been a wrestling match or submission match. I would feel that it was in my game.
“It was fun to get the good experience. Although I wasn’t the most technical, I feel like I gained a lot from it. This was a lot of fun .”
Greco-Roman wrestling is based purely around upper body takedowns with no attacks allowed at all on the legs, which is a key component in freestyle competition.
Hermansson ultimately lost on points during the two-round match, although he definitely pushed Chimaev to the limit after the Chechen wrestler came charging out of the gates.
“Khamzat is an extremely fast starter,” Hermansson said. “He’s definitely good in those kinds of rules, a short fight. One of my greatest skills is my ability to push the fight. I win more fights the longer they go. During a wrestling match, you need to be on from the first moment because it’s a short match. It’s a very explosive sport.
” I am a bit more comfortable wrestling in five-minute rounds than we are in MMA. I definitely would have needed a little more time to adapt to do better. Even though we are in the game, it is always hard to lose. It is what it is.”
If the opportunity ever came up again, Hermansson says he would welcome a chance to face Chimaev in a rematch, except this time he won’t be giving “Borz” the advantage on the mats.
“I felt him slowing down as well at the end of the match,” Hermansson said. He was too far ahead by too many points, but it was too late for anything to happen. He did slow down, but I felt it.
” A freestyle match would not be my favorite rematch. It would be more fun to do this in my grappling game. 20 minutes, submission only. .”
That’s a completely different story.
As much as Chimaev was a great wrestler, Hermansson is still a big fan of the UFC. He hopes to beat Strickland in the UFC and will then focus his attention on the UFC’s upcoming Middleweight Title rematch with Robert Whittaker.
The last time around, Adesanya scored a lopsided knockout win but Hermansson expects a much better performance from Whittaker — even as he predicts the result will likely be the same.
” I feel that this fight will be closer,” Hermansson stated. It’s going be an interesting fight. This is especially after Whittaker’s win against [Kelvin] Gastelum, where he displayed great wrestling skills. Adesanya’s victory against [Jan] Blachowicz – Blachowicz proved that it could be beneficial to include in your game plan.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Whittaker wrestle a little bit more in this fight and that makes for a much more interesting fight. Although I feel that Adesanya may be capable of pulling it off, I believe it will be close .”
Assuming that Strickland is defeated on Saturday, Hermansson knows that at most one more victory will be enough to cement his place as top-ranked contender in this division. That’s why he’s keeping a close eye on the upcoming middleweight fight between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier, which also takes place at UFC 271.
“I definitely think that’s a good option and probably the right thing to do if the champ is going to have some time off to make that fight,” Hermansson said about facing either Brunson or Cannonier next.
