Kevin Holland defeated Charlie Ontiveros via first-round verbal submission at UFC on ESPN+ 39 on Saturday, Oct. 31. Photo courtesy of @UFCNews [Twitter].
Kevin Holland believes Israel Adesanya defeats Sean Strickland at UFC 293: “Izzy picks him apart”
UFC welterweight contender Kevin Holland believes that UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya defeats Sean Strickland at UFC 293, saying “Izzy picks him apart.”
Adesanya was supposed to fight Dricus du Plessis at UFC 293, but after the South African fighter suffered a foot injury, he likely won’t be able to go next month in the main event of the Sydney, Australia card, despite becoming the No. 1 contender with a knockout win over Robert Whittaker. Instead of du Plessis, there are now rumors floating around that Strickland, who recently TKOed Abus Magomedov, might get the title shot instead. If that’s the fight that happens, then Holland doesn’t give the challenger much of a chance.
Speaking to Helen Yee in a recent interview, Holland broke down a potential Adesanya vs. Strickland fight.
“Styles make fights, and Strickland doesn’t really like to get hit with big kicks and Izzy has cardio.(Magomedov) didn’t have any, obviously. With Strickland vs. Izzy, Strickland likes to do the man dance – but I don’t think he has enough dance moves to dance with Israel Adesanya,” Holland said (via MMAjunkie.com). “I think Izzy picks him apart, Izzy picks Du Plessis apart. It’ll probably be sh*t, little leg kicks, a few push kicks, every once in a while he’ll throw something big and spinning. Izzy has more chances of knocking out Strickland because Strickland will take more chances than Du Plessis does.”
Although Adesanya will be a big favorite over Strickland if that fight indeed happens, at least the buildup to the fight and the press conferences would be a lot of fun to watch. Holland is likely correct in how the fight plays out, but with no du Plessis available, Strickland is the next-best opponent for Adesanya to face.
Do you agree with Kevin Holland that Israel Adesanya will defeat Sean Strickland at UFC 293?
