Glover Teixeira has sent a warning to Israel Adesanya ahead of his move to light heavyweight to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the belt.
Although Adesanya is a very technical striker, the size difference could be an issue for the middleweight champion. For Teixeira, he also believes the pressure will be something “The Last Stylebender” will need to figure out early in order to have success.
“He’s good and would get to the top, for sure,” Teixeira said to MMAFighting. “He’s good as hell, good athlete, good fighter, super-intelligent, and for sure would get to the top, but the weight [difference], everything counts. I know that because I train with heavyweights, and it’s hard. The fatigue, the pressure is different.”
Glover Teixeira is set to headline UFC Vegas 13 this Saturday against Thiago Santos. It is a very intriguing matchup and many thought the winner would get the next title shot. However, with Adesanya moving up that appears unlikely, and will likely need one more win if he gets his hand raised on Saturday.
Israel Adesanya, meanwhile, is set to fight Jan Blachowicz sometime in 2021 for the light heavyweight title. The middleweight champion is coming off a dominant second-round TKO over Paulo Costa to defend his title for the second time.
