UFC middleweight contender Caio Borralho shared his analysis on the possibility of a rematch between former champions Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.
Borralho expressed doubt that Israel Adesanya would succeed in avenging his previous loss to Sean Strickland should they face off again in the Octagon.
According to Borralho, the stylistic clash heavily favors Strickland. He believes Strickland`s consistent forward pressure is something Adesanya struggles with.
“To be honest, I see it the same way, because Strickland…styles make fights, and Strickland is a guy that pressures a lot, and Izzy doesn’t like to get pressured too much,” Borralho stated in a recent interview.
He elaborated that Strickland’s approach, which involves “touching” with strikes rather than constantly throwing with full power, confuses Adesanya. This tactic, Borralho suggests, prevents Izzy from accurately anticipating power shots, leading him to absorb numerous strikes.
“Strickland will march forward, Izzy is going to try to guess which punch is coming with power, and then there will be no power and he’ll be a bit confused,” Borralho predicted. “Get touched a lot, and I think Strickland wins again.”
Borralho qualified his prediction by emphasizing that Strickland would need to perform as he did in their first encounter, not like in his recent bouts against Dricus du Plessis, where he suffered two losses.
Both Adesanya and Strickland are currently looking to rebound from recent defeats. Adesanya is coming off a loss to Nassourdine Imavov, while Strickland lost his middleweight title to du Plessis and then lost their rematch.
Despite their recent form, Adesanya has publicly called for a rematch with Strickland, suggesting a potential return to the cage for both fighters later this year.
Their initial meeting at UFC 293 in September 2023 resulted in one of the most significant upsets in UFC history, with Strickland winning the middleweight title from Adesanya via unanimous decision after a dominant performance.
In other news surrounding Adesanya, he recently garnered attention during a fan interaction event in Las Vegas for defending light heavyweight great Jon Jones against a persistent troll, a notable moment given their past animosity.
As both fighters aim to regain their momentum and position in the middleweight division, a rematch appears to be a logical and highly anticipated next step, potentially before the end of the year.
Jack Thornley