"Pinpoint accuracy striking" - Israel Adesanya reacts to Sean O'Malley's "mesmerizing" win, Dustin Poirier's knockout, and other UFC 299 fights
Former UFC two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was extremely impressed by Sean O'Malley's bantamweight title defense against Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC 299.
Adesanya reacted to the win in real-time on his YouTube channel and highlighted O'Malley's accurate striking and his clever usage of his reach:
“That was a f*****g beautiful fight. Mr. Cool Guy. O’Malley, f*****g hell! Just mesmerizing, beautiful to watch. Even watching from the couch, whenever he was doing his feint, I found myself like reacting a little bit. Pinpoint accuracy striking. He was just able to just do whatever he wanted standing right in front of him, moving off the center line and 'Chito' [Vera] wasn’t able to catch up. ‘Cause just the gap stated to widen dangerous in round one because Sean can just catch you...”
Adesanya also weighed in on the Fight of the Night bout between Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint Denis.
'The Last Stylebender' addressed the French fighter's gamble with an aggressive approach and his adept submission defense. However, it was Poirier who knocked out Saint Denis in the second round, ending a thrilling contest:
“Dustin fight, yeah crazy. Benoit put his foot on the gas and paid off till it didn’t pay off. He got caught and not in the guillotine. Got caught with a punch and knocked out. But yeah, I was impressed with his escape as well from one of guillotines, he did the cartwheel. He’s a good grappler, good pace. If you can do that for five rounds, jeez. But yeah, congrats to DP.”
Adesanya also praised debutante Michael 'Venom' Page for a victory that personified his fighting style against an experienced UFC veteran in Kevin Holland.
Check out Israel Adesanya's full comments on his YouTube channel (13:00):
Alex Pereira backs Israel Adesanya for a title shot
UFC light heavyweight champion and rival Alex Pereira is in favor of an immediate title shot for Israel Adesanya as opposed to him fighting other contenders.
In a UFC 300 Q&A session hosted ahead of UFC 299, Pereira praised Adesanya for his training and dominance over the middleweight division. He also stated that it would be Adesanya's discretion whether to challenge for the title or taking another fight to build himself up:
“I think he has put in the work. He has done a lot. And you know, it is really up to him. If he feels like he needs another fight then I would support him. And if he is going straight to the belt then I could support him as well for that.”
'Poatan' will defend his title against Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300.
Check out Alex Pereira's full comments on Israel Adesanya (19:14):