"Look where he ended up" - Israel Adesanya draws parallel between Anderson Silva and teammate 'Blood Diamond' who fights at UFC 277
Israel Adesanya recently compared his teammate Mike Mathetha, a.k.a. 'Blood Diamond', to Anderson Silva.
The 'Blood Diamond' is set to return this weekend at UFC 277 as he takes on Orion Cosce in a welterweight bout. Mathetha lost his debut fight against Jeremiah Wells at UFC 271. However, 'The Last Stylebender' is backing his teammate to get the win this time.
Adesanya pointed out that Carlos Ulberg also lost his debut fight. However, he is back to winning ways and is putting his skills on display. He then went on to refer to Anderson Silva's loss in his return to MMA in 2000.
'The Spider' went on to become one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. Here's what Adesanya stated while giving his breakdown for UFC 277 along with Dan Hooker on the FREESTYLEBENDER channel:
"Even Anderson Silva lost his debut as well and look where he ended up."
'The Last Stylebender' pointed out that in his last fight, Mathetha didn't even get the chance to show his skills. Adesanya is confident that the fight this weekend will last longer and 'Blood Diamond' will be able to showcase his skills in front of the world. Here's what the UFC middleweight champion added:
"I am looking forward to it. Diamond's healthy. I don't know what this guy's gonna do, he's gonna try and take him down. I wanna see black jelly.
"When fights like that happen, it's not even about losing, yoy don't get to show even a bit of your skills. That's the bit just like, 'Oh! you guys will see'. I can't wait to see. This is definitely gonna go longer and yeah, I got 'Diamond' on this one."
Watch Israel Adesanya give his breakdown for UFC 277:
Israel Adesanya is set to face Alex Pereira next
Israel Adesanya is coming off a decision win against Jared Cannonier in his last fight at UFC 276. Alex Pereira was also on the card as the Brazilian earned a stunning first-round knockout finish against Sean Strickland.
'Poatan' and 'The Last Stylebender' have faced each other twice in kickboxing before, with the Brazilian claiming the win on both occasions. To add to that, Pereira is the only man to ever finish Adesanya in combat sports.
It is understandable why there is such a buzz around the contest as fans might witness something special one way or another when the two striking sensations face off for a third time. However, the MMA rules and the pressure of a UFC title fight might play a pivotal role in the outcome of the contest.