Israel Adesanya is backing his teammate Alexander Volkanovski to become a champ-champ on Saturday.
Volkanovski stepped up on 12 days’ notice to replace Charles Oliveira to rematch Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. The two fought back in February and it was Makhachev who won a very close decision.
Although Volkanovski is taking the fight on short notice, Israel Adesanya has a lot of confidence in Alexander Volkanovski to get the win and become the new champ.
Adesanya shares prediction for Volkanovski-Makhachev
“Now he (Volkanovski) knows what he (Makhachev) brings. This guy can take me down? He can’t keep me down,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “I can get back up and f*ck him up. So, now he knows what to do and he doesn’t have to worry about, I need to last with this guy. Only 11 days, cool. I been on the couch, cool. He’s fit, he also has the fighting spirit. If it gets to the fourth and fifth round, watch ‘Volk’ not get tired.
“I don’t think it’s gonna get that long. I honestly think third round, maybe even second round, but I think third round. ‘Volk’s’ gonna finish him. Catch him with a shot, drop him, and ground and pound him to a finish. If he submits him, that would be f*****g insane but I think ‘Volk’s’ gonna catch him and drop him and finish him,” Adesanya continued.
Alexander Volkanovski is pretty confident he can connect a good punch on Islam Makhachev and possibly even knock him out this time. In their last bout, during the fifth round, Volkanovski had Makhachev on the ropes and came very close to putting an end to the fight. It’s clear that Volkanovski has the power to give Makhachev a hard time.
Currently, Volkanovski is a +225 underdog and to win by knockout as Israel Adesnya predicts is +550, so the oddsmakers don’t think it’s that good of a chance. But, if the Aussie wins, many expect it to be by knockout as he will likely need to finish Makhachev.
