Despite the weight gain, Daniel Cormier does not see the change in weight division influencing Israel Adesanya on Saturday night.
The former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, now an analyst who will be on duty on Saturday, does not expect Jan Blachowicz’s size advantage to affect Adesanya in the heavyweight showdown in the main event of the UFC. UFC 259.
Adesanya, holder of the title at middleweight, moves up to the 205-pound division to try to dethrone Blachowicz and become a two-division champion. At the official weigh-in on Friday, Blachowicz weighed 205 pounds, while Adesanya was well below the 200.5 limit.
Cormier, who had a successful move from light heavyweights to heavyweights in 2018, thinks Adesanya will perform as he normally does now, 10 pounds to the north.
“You feel the difference in power. You can say that they punch a little harder when you’re used to something. But it takes time to get started, ”Cormier told reporters on Friday. “After you start and get used to the strength, speed and pace with which the fight is going to take place, it’s just another fight.
“These guys have competed all their lives, so nothing is really going to surprise you. You have to remember, Izzy has already fought in the heavyweight division. He fought with heavier guys, so it won’t be that hard for him. “
Adesanya has not yet competed in any other underweight category in MMA, but has already competed in heavyweight kickboxing. Cormier thinks the light heavyweight will be no problem for the Nigerian champion and even thinks the heavyweight may be within reach.
“He’s a tall guy, but if he were short, then I would think, ‘This guy can’t fight 185 and then heavyweight’. But he has done this before, ”said Cormier. “I think at the end of the day you have to make sure it’s the right kind of confrontation if you’re playing with heavyweights. You don’t want to fight heavyweight with Francis (Ngannou) as a guy who comes from 185. But for the right fight, yes, I believe that this kid can do what he wants. I think he is so good. “
Adesanya’s team has caused the heavyweight before. Coach Eugene Bareman said there may be an interest in a potential confrontation with current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Cormier thinks Adesanya is talented enough to compete in heavyweight, but not immediately. There needs to be an adjustment period if Adesanya wants to do it right.
“I don’t think he’s going to make it to the heavyweight in two fights – that’s crazy,” said Cormier. “You can’t go from 185 to heavyweight in two fights. I think it will take a while.
“But I think it shows who Israel Adesanya is – that this is even a conversation, that he could try to do something so strange. There was a time when no one thought that being a two-division champion was possible, and now we’re talking about a guy who can get three titles, talking about a 20-pound jump to a 60-pound jump. It just shows the level of athlete that Adesanya is. “