Is Israel Adesanya on a one-mind reverse psychology track? It may be that Izzy is simply a changed man after his title loss. Adesanya, a proper regular rival picker, is having trouble picking against Alex Pereira at UFC 307. Pereira faces Khalil Rountree on Saturday’s pay-per-view top bill.
Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) knows first-hand the quality of Pereira. The two have fought four times, twice in kickboxing and twice in MMA, with Izzy eventually winning by KO at UFC 287. But he usually picks against ‘Poatan’. To a point where the Kiwi-based Nigerian even deployed shamanic boosts to (jokingly) curse him. Now, he has nitpicked Rountree’s approach for the 205lber headliner.
I’ll go Pereira because of momentum right now, …Rountree doesn’t grapple. He likes to kickbox. He’s never gone for a takedown. If you’re going to do that with Pereira – I’m the only one who’s ever even rocked him or like stood with him in the UFC…Everyone else, he’s washed.
Israel Adesanya on ‘The Adam Carolla Show’ (@TheAdamCarollaShow1)
This is a rare case where hell has really frozen over, or Izzy’s ‘frozen like Elsa’ taunt on his kickboxing rival has thawed! This is a diss so popular that ‘King of Rio’ José Aldo chose to wear Izzy-like blue during fight night before his 135lb domination at UFC 301. Sean O’Malley vowed to play spoiler with the same KO imagery, It’s a diss and enmity so old that Adesanya has long fallen back to it. But now, the fighter changes course and reflects on what he knows.
The five-round headliner atop the UFC 307 pay-per-view (PPV) event is unlikely to have any grappling at all. Adesanya believes the Team Syndicate MMA star can catch him dirty with his Muay Thai shot selection. However, he thinks Alex Pereira and his signature long reach to frame in pockets and shock KOs will prevail. But then MMA is a fickle game; he isn’t counting out ‘War Horse’ altogether.
Israel Adesanya weighs in on Khalil Rountree’s chances
Khalil Rountree may have taken the MMA world by surprise when he unexpectedly won a title shot. That too inheriting a title shot after 4 1/2 months suspension, testing positive for the banned substance dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). But despite not being the clear frontrunner for many, he hasn’t been underestimated.
Rountree has upset kickboxing standouts like Gokhan Saki before and is the most proficient striker in the division now. Although a +350 underdog, many believe the 34-year-old fighter can put Pereira against the fences and run through him. This includes Chael Sonnen as well. Israel Adesanya is unsure what insight Sonnen has to make such a bold statement, but won’t rule it out.
Rountree will definitely be the underdog in this one, but I wouldn’t count him out, …Because Chael reckons he’s going to win, and Chael reckons he’s going to wash Pereira. And I’m like, ‘Wait, what does he know that we don’t know?’ Of course this is fighting, and I know he can because he can get in there, put him against the fence…
Israel Adesanya further said
A -450 opener, Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira remains the odds-on-betting favorite at the UFC 307 pay-per-view (PPV) event. Rountree and his plans stand with the former two-time GLORY Kickboxing champ to strike, propelling such odds. Come this Saturday, it remains to be seen how much and if Izzy can finally win his stake on this one.
