Easiest fight at Middleweight: De Ridder confident of beating Israel Adesanya

There are many debates ongoing about potential crossover fights between ONE Championship and UFC Fighters. One such fight that interests many fans is the middleweight showdown between Israel Adesanya and Reinier De Ridder.

Israel Adesanya has been a force to reckon with in the UFC Middleweight division and currently holds a professional MMA record of 21-1 to his name with his only loss coming at Light Heavy Weight against former champion Jan Blachowicz.

De Ridder, meanwhile, is undefeated with a record of 14-0 to his name and is the champion in ONE Championship’s Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions.

Speaking to ONE Championship, De Ridder said that Adesanya will be one of the easiest fights for him at Middleweight.

“I think that's one of the easiest middleweight fights for me. Because in the open space, he just gets taken down very easily. Those two takedowns Jan [Blachowicz] made were alright, but they weren't the most technical I've ever seen in my life. He defends very well against the cage. He's got a lot of good tools with his whizzers, with his under hooks, he pushes the head nicely and he does well against the cage. A big base. But in the open space, he almost has no takedown defense at all. And in the stand up, he is my size, so he has almost identically my range. I think he's a bit shorter than I am, so I wouldn't fear him in the stand-up either,” De Ridder said.

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He further went on to add that Adesanya is not keeping up with his contenders who are evolving fast.

“I think he's putting in the work. But it's just hard to catch up in a few years. There's guys who've been on the mats wrestling, grappling, since we're five years old, like myself. You can never catch up. So if he faces a grappler he better pray to God he can keep standing,” he added.

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What do you think of a potential matchup between Reinier De Ridder and Israel Adesanya? Let us know your predictions in the comments below.

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