Det var många som kliade sig i huvudet när det meddelades att den snabbt klättrande och obesegrade mellanviktaren Israel Adesanya (15-0) kommer att möta den forne mästaren Anderson Silva (34-8) under UFC 234. Den 29-årige Adesanya är rankad nummer 6 i divisionen och segrade senast imponerande mot Derek Brunson via TKO i första ronden under UFC 230.
Adesanya riskerade med denna matchningen en eventuell titelchans, men enligt honom själv var det en del av hans plan. Han berättar här också att hans fightingstil är inspirerad av Silva och menar att han förmodligen känner brassen bättre än honom själv.
Via MMAFighting:
I’m a guy that started off modeling my style after his because he’s a skinny black guy like me and I looked up to him. So, I was like ‘If you want to fight your clone, you can fight me. But I’m better than your clone because I’ve studied every single thing you’ve done and every f*cking move you made.’ I know when he’s going to chill, I know one he’s going to attack, I know when he’s offensive, I know when he wants to blitz. I’d feel it.
I know this man better than he knows himself. I know some things about him that he doesn’t even know about himself because I’m on the outside looking in. But I’m glad he took the fight and I’m glad it’s on … So now I’m ready. This is all mine for the taking.
Initially, I didn’t want to fight Anderson … But I feel like this is is supposed to happen. ”You have to fight this guy.” I was just like ‘Yeah, I agree’ and he’s like ‘What?’ and I was like ‘I had a dream last night.’
Adesanya har dock stor respekt för Silva och känner att han fortfarande är en farlig fighter trots de senaste årens motgångar. Silva hade tidigare 5 raka förluster innan han lyckades segra mot Derek Brunson via ett enhälligt domslut under UFC 208.
Trots detta är Adesanya säker på att han kommer att gå segrande ur mötet.
He’s still Anderson Silva. Whether you like it or not, he just smashed- well Bisping won the fight on paper but I had Anderson edging it out. You could have stop the fight in the third [round] rafter that flying knee dropped [Bisping]. So he’s still a guy that’s dangerous, he’s still the guy that f*cking front kicked Vitor Belfort in his face, he’s still crafty and he’s a guy that among everyone else can probably play with me better than most people because we’re cut from the same cloth, the cloth of greatness. Like the way we move is different from the rest. So yeah, he’ll be a guy that understands how we move differently. So, don’t ever sleep on him. He’s ‘The Spider.’
I know I’m going beat him and I have to beat him. But, I’m not overestimating him and I’m not underestimating him. I just have to go in and do my job. I’ve said it, just because I’m a fan doesn’t mean you can’t catch these hands. Just because I’m a fan doesn’t mean I won’t put it on him. I’m not going to be like [Georges St-Pierre] when he first faced Matt Hughes. You know GSP was looking down and he admitted he was scared and he wasn’t worthy of being in there. That’s how he felt. This is not that. This is not that story. I’m coming in there to kill him, I’m coming in to destroy him.
Eftersom Silva under lång tid har varit Adesanyas MMA-hjälte är det här mötet mycket betydelsefullt för honom. Så pass betydelsefullt att han låter sig själv prioritera det före ett bälte i viktklassen och han jämför det hela med att ställa basketspelarna LeBron James och Michael Jordan mot varandra.
This means more to me than the f*cking world title. I’m getting choke up right now even thinking about it. Like honestly, this f*cking means the world to me. UFC 90 was the first time I watched this guy fight live. Before that I was watching DVDs of him f*cking smirking dudes. This is like LeBron James getting to face Michael Jordan.
So this means more to me than any f*cking shiny belt. Like, I can kill this guy and then I can be like ‘I’ve done what I came here to do. I’m done.’ But, I’m not done. After this, I’ll go on to do other things. Yeah, the belt comes with it. But I’ll carry on the legacy of the other avatars in this game.
UFC 234 äger rum i Australien den 10 februari. Hur tror ni att matchen kommer att utspela sig?
