Alexander Volkanovski believes Israel Adesanya will get the job done against Dricus du Plessis this weekend.
In the main event of UFC 305, Israel Adesanya will challenge Dricus du Plessis for the UFC middleweight championship. If he wins, he will become a three-time world champion, cementing his legacy as one of the true greats at 185 pounds.
Of course, it isn’t going to be easy. Adesanya is coming off the back of a convincing loss to Sean Strickland, who du Plessis was able to defeat in order to claim the belt earlier this year.
Alexander Volkanovski, who is good friends with ‘Stylebender’, recently offered up his own prediction for the fight.
Volkanovski backs Israel Adesanya
“I think Israel Adesanya is going to put on that type of performance where he gets a crazy finish, and that’s saying something because Dricus is no joke,” Volkanovski said. “Dricus is very strong, wrestler, grappler, so Izzy is going to have to be careful of Dricus trying to take him down because I reckon he’s going to have that freakish strength, and he’s got good D’Arce (chokes) and good (other) chokes as well.
“So you’re going to have to be careful. … I feel like something big is coming – I mean, a big finish. I mean highlight-reel Izzy that we’ve seen. That type of finish that we’re going to see from Izzy, which is going to be huge, which just puts him – obviously he’s always been a superstar, just puts him right back where he was not that long ago.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
Regardless of which way you look at this, it’s an intriguing clash of styles. Israel Adesanya knows what’s on the line here, whereas du Plessis has to try and prove that he’s going to be a serious threat as champion of the division.