Israel Adesanya doesn’t see Yoel Romero being his toughest challenge to date.
UFC middleweight champ Adesanya (18-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) defends his title against Romero (13-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC 248, which takes place March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view.
“Stylebender” had a remarkable 2019, going through three different kinds of tests. He faced his idol, Anderson Silva, captured the UFC’s interim 185-pound title in a barnburner with Kelvin Gastelum, and became undisputed UFC middleweight champ in what, on paper, should have been his hardest outing in Robert Whittaker.
But just like most thought Whittaker would pose numerous threats to Adesanya, his next opponent, Romero, is projected to present a stylistic matchup that Adesanya hasn’t faced before.
With his wide frame, power and explosion, the Olympic silver medalist is dangerous everywhere. Despite that, Adesanya is confident that March 7 will be smooth sailing.
“I’ve had some tough tests,” Adesanya told “Submission Radio.” “Right now, I still think Kelvin has been my toughest fight so far physically. Mentally, Anderson has been my toughest fight so far. But we’ll see. That’s yet to be said. I don’t think he’s (Romero) going to be. Like, the way the match is shaping up, I don’t really think he’s going to be. I think he’s going to be quite – not easy, but I’ll make it look easy.”
“I said that about the Robert fight, ’cause everyone was counting me out. They said, ‘Man, this is it. Nah, you can’t (expletive) with Robert,’ this and that. And I said I’ll make it look easy. And what did I do? I made it look easy. I just feel that way for this one, as well. I don’t think – Yoel is a guy who’s fought someone who just stays in front of him. He stays in front of him, and yeah, he likes a punching bag, and that I am not.”
Romero has a tendency of pacing himself, which has caused him to drop a few rounds on the judges’ scorecard. He patiently waits for the right moment to explode when you least expect it and has proven his ability to finish a fight in any round.
And while Adesanya is well aware of the dangers in this matchup, he hopes Romero uses a different approach and tests him with his high-level grappling, an area of Adesanya’s game that continues to be questioned.
“He’ll lull you into a false sense of security where you feel like you can kind of coast or you’re in control, and he’ll just explode,” Adesanya said. “So, you have to stay on with him at all points. You can’t just drift off, you can’t just coast in your mind. But also, his wrestling I think should be his strong suit ’cause he’s an Olympian and all this (expletive), but he rarely ever uses it. So, I’m hoping he uses it in this fight. I want to see what that wrestling’s about.”
In a rare case, Romero will be getting a title shot coming off of back-to-back losses. He has also lost three of his last four, but all have been razor-thin decision losses.
With not too many clearcut No. 1 contenders, Adesanya said he specifically chose Romero as his next opponent because he is a fighter that is feared by many.
“It was hard to sell it to (UFC execs) because they were like, ‘We can’t give a title shot to a guy who’s had numerous title shots,’ who’s been known for little vet moves or cheating ‘AKA,’ and he’s just a guy that they didn’t think they could sell it,” Adesanya said. “But I told them I’d sell it, I’d be the one to put it on, because he’s the guy that people had been hoping (would beat me).”
“It’s not really about him. They’re not coming to watch him; they’re coming to watch me because they’re hoping he’s the one to take me out because from the get go, from my first UFC fight, all they ever said was, ‘Feed him to Romero,’ and, ‘He’ll take him down and it’s over.’ That’s what all the casuals have felt, that’s what all the experts have felt, so I just feel like he’s one of those guys. I think he’s one of those guys that he’s – I mean, he scares Darren Till. I don’t see it, but yeah, he’s the guy that scares a lot of people, and no one’s asked to fight him, so I’m doing something different.”
Israel Adesanya: 'I'll make it look easy' against Yoel Romero at UFC 248
