According to the American, the Nigerian can defeat the Brazilian in two ways, provided that he uses his fighting intelligence.
“I believe Adesanya can win if he fights smart,” the Triple Champion told Sporting News. “Israel has several ways to win this fight. The first is to beat him on points without getting into a fight. You don’t have to fight a guy who is Francis Ngannou in your weight class, who has a crazy right hand and left hook and knows how to kick.”
“If I were your coach, I would say there are two options. The first is to work at a distance, score points, change stances. Use speed because you’re faster than this guy. And the second way is to use your wrestling arsenal, because in the previous fight you controlled it for six minutes and thirty-two seconds. This is where fighting IQ comes into play when a competitor meets a fighter. When a fighter has to become more of a competitor than a fighter. You have to know when to back off, when to pull the trigger, and when to slow down.”
Recall that the middleweight title rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya will be the main event of the UFC 287 tournament, which will be held on April 8 in Miami.