International Fight Week is just around the corner and fans just can’t wait anymore! With all the commotion around the much-awaited event, sparks were meant to fly. After a series of speculations from MMA gurus and UFC icons, Israel Adesanya has come forward to address the main card for UFC 290 – featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski vs interim champ Yair Rodriguez.

In a recent interview, the ‘Stylebender’ laid out all his thoughts on the table. Being a champ himself, he definitely has the skills to gauge another champ’s potential – this time it was Alexander Volkanovski aka “Volk.” While Adesanya is currently relishing his status as the Middleweight champ, Volkanovski has an even bigger accolade up his sleeve – he’s currently #2 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, aced by UFC titan Jon Jones.

Israel Adesanya breaks down Alexander Volkanovski’s approach to UFC 290

In a recent FREESTYLEBENDER interview, Izzy sat down with #11 UFC Lightweight Dan Hooker. Why? To break down and give their two cents on the stacked UFC 290 PPV.

The discussion switched to Volk’s upcoming challenge – keeping the interim champ at bay. The ‘Stylebender’ kicked off the conversation by conferring Volk’s concerns – “Volk reckons this is the hardest fight of his career.”

The Middleweight champ seemed to agree to this conundrum. What’s more – he asserted that Volkanovski’s mindset ahead of the fight needs to be stern and fixated. Shedding the spotlight on Volk’s approach to training for the clash, Izzy believes – The Great has made all the right decisions.

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In addition to coaching and preparing for the unexpected, Volk’s covered all bases for countering Yair’s threat to his title.“….he’s brought in – Van Roon and Diamond[Poirier]. I feel like those are two key things [are] really important.”(Adesanya)

‘Izzy’ gives his two cents on Volkanovski vs Yair clash

But who will win the fight? Well, according to the Middleweight champ, the fighter who takes control of the pace of the game has an upper hand. ‘Izzy’ even hinted at ‘Volk’s potential game plan, stating, “[If] Volk just closes him, gets him tired early on, beats him on the inside against the fence…Volk’s really good at that as well.”

Nevertheless, the Kiwi admitted that Yair was “no sloucher.” His “random” yet devastating blows could inflict some real damage if Volk gets into “deep waters.” But ‘Izzy’ asserted that ‘The Great’ has already been in the “deep waters,” and is well-prepared to square off against Rodriguez.

The Middleweight champ sees Volkanovski as a great student, concluding by saying, “He’s got Craig[Jones] on the side as well. And Craig knows how to help – and Volk’s a great student. He listens well…he actually takes things on and applies them…”

Do you agree with the Middleweight champ’s POV? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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