CKB teammate Dan Hooker predicts what Israel Adesanya needs to do to retain middleweight belt
Dan Hooker believes Israel Adesanya doesn't necessarily have to change up his style too much to defeat Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
Pereira's two wins over Adesanya in kickboxing have been massive talking points in the lead-up to the UFC middleweight title fight. Many believe that Adesanya can't solely rely on his striking – the champion's bread and butter – to defeat Pereira.
But as far as Hooker is concerned, his City Kickboxing (CKB) teammate could definitely beat Pereira if both men decide to keep the fight on their feet. During an interview with Submission Radio, 'The Hangman' said:
"I feel like it's entirely up to Israel for this fight. For like, he's the one who gets to dictate this. I feel like he can beat Alex if he just keeps it on the feet."
Watch Dan Hooker's interview below:
With that in mind, Hooker also acknowledged that Adesanya could similarly find success in other aspects of MMA. The Kiwi fighter continued:
"I feel like Israel right now is on a whole other level. I feel like if he wants to grapple him, he could grapple him too. I feel like this is Israel's fight. The good thing about this fight or what makes it so exciting is that Alex is not going to stop going forward. He's gonna fight kill-or-be-killed."
Dan Hooker thinks people doubting Israel Adesanya against Alex Pereira haven't watched their kickboxing fights
Much has been said about Alex Pereira's two wins over Israel Adesanya in kickboxing. However, Dan Hooker thinks people who have been counting Adesanya out may not have watched the fights at all.
Watch the finishing sequence of Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira 2:
Don’t forget Alex Pereira is the only person to ever KO Israel Adesanya 😤
https://t.co/jYCuPl83Vv
Of course, the first meeting between the two ended with a controversial decision. The rematch, on the other hand, saw Adesanya winning comfortably before Pereira caught him with a massive shot. With that in mind, Hooker said:
"That's the funny thing about it, like, people do actually go back and spend the time [watching the first two fights]. I saw the one, like Cejudo puts out the video and he's giving a breakdown of the fight. He's like, 'Alex beat Israel in this fight and then he rematched him and knocked him out. He has the striking advantage.' And then someone commented on it... Someone called him out and asked, 'Did you watch the fights?'"