Israel Adesanya has insisted he is “not getting touched” in his fight with Jan Blachowicz as he looks to become a two-weight champion at UFC 259 this weekend.
Adesanya, who boasts a 20-0 UFC record, is the reigning middleweight champion after defending his title against Paulo Costa in September, but is now moving up to light heavyweight.
Despite this being his first bout in the new division, the 31-year-old is confident he will come out on top and boldly predicted he won’t get hit by his Polish opponent.
“I’m not getting touched this fight, that’s my plan, not getting touched like I did in the Costa fight,” Adesanya told TheMacLife.
“I didn’t get touched in the Costa but like I did in the Costa fight because I didn’t let him touch me in the face at all. Make sure I don’t get hit and watch out for the body kick.”
Adesanya is the favourite and has a strong striking defence but Blachowicz believes he will land a knockout shot on The Last Stylebender.
“We do a lot of wrestling so maybe I will take him down. But, I like fighting standup, every fight starts standing,” he said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com about his fight with Adesanya.
“And we’re doing that based on we’re giving away this size and weight advantage that we sometimes have in our favour. Now we’re gonna give it away. So, it’s just a very hard (fight).
“What we’re about to attempt here is, people don’t understand, a very, very difficult endeavour and a very risky one, and one that makes for all us coaches and Israel, it makes the hairs on the back of our necks stand up.
“Because this is a true, true challenge – a hefty challenge. And it’s a scary one, and it’s one that gets you up early in the morning and wanting to attack it.
“And we’ve had a great camp because it’s just a highly motivating fight. And it’s a highly motivating fight because it’s such a dangerous fight.”
