In a striking contest, Israel Adesanya’s coach believes his fighter torches Anderson Silva.
Adesanya is set to go one-on-one with Silva on Feb. 9. The bout will serve as UFC 234’s co-main event. Silva has been promised a title shot if he beats Adesanya. With how fast “The Last Stylebender’s” stock is rising, he may be the front runner to challenge for the middleweight gold if he beats “The Spider.” The action will take place inside the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Israel Adesanya’s Coach Calls It How He Sees It
A new vlog on Adesanya’s journey to UFC 234 was released by EMG Access. In the video, Adesanya’s striking coach Eugene Bareman makes it clear that he doesn’t believe Silva would survive a striking battle with “The Last Stylebender” (via MMAJunkie.com):
“In a striking fight, the casual fan is definitely not going to agree with me, but that’s why they’re a casual fan. A striking match is not a competition with Israel Adesanya. His pedigree is much higher, and he’s a more high-caliber fighter. But this is an MMA fight, and that makes it more interesting. It makes the playing field more even, and that’s what makes it such an interesting fight.”
Headlining UFC 234 will be a middleweight title bout. Champion Robert Whittaker will defend his gold against Kelvin Gastelum. While the winner of that title bout could very well meet Adesanya or Silva next, Jacare Souza can’t be counted out either. Both Whittaker and Gastelum have wins over Souza.
Do you think Anderson Silva can hang with Israel Adesanya’s stand-up?
