"I'd be in Dagestan, wrestling my a** off" - Chris Curtis gives advice to Israel Adesanya ahead of rumored Alex Pereira clash

UFC middleweight Chris Curtis has advice for Israel Adesanya ahead of his expected bout against Alex Pereira. Adesanya and Pereria have clashed twice before, but the contests took place in the squared circle of GLORY's kickboxing promotion under a striking-only ruleset.

In both of those matchups, Pereira emerged victorious: first by unanimous decision, then by way of a brutal KO. When asked who he thought would take the third bout, Curtis had this to say:

"who knows man. Like, if I was Izzy, I'd be in Dagestan wrestling right now. Like, we're not gonna punch. I'm gonna take [Pereira] down and strangle [him], but who knows man. It's been a long time—MMA is a different animal altogether... I'd be in Dagestan wrestling my *** off.

Curtis' take here is interesting, not only due to what he's saying, but also because of what isn't being said. The UFC middleweight thinks anything could happen, but by suggesting that Israel Adesanya should work on his wrestling and try to take him down, he is speaking to his belief that Pereira is the better kickboxer.

Curtis doesn't believe that Adesanya standing with Pereira seems to be a good option for him. However, it would be a drastic change in style for Adesanya to attempt to wrestle now, considering he has never once attempted a takedown in the octagon.

Israel Adesanya at least, believes a key difference could be in the gloves. During the UFC 276 press conference, he referred to the gloves used in GLORY kickboxing as "pillow gloves." Pereira had a logical rebuttal to this sentiment, shown below:

You can watch Curtis' full interview with Helen Yee below:

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Chris Curtis' could face Israel Adesanya soon with win over Jack Hermansson

Chris Curtis has emerged from the middleweight woodwork to replace Daren Till in the co-main event of UFC London on July 23rd. Curtis is a relative newcomer to the UFC, having only fought three times in the promotion, albeit winning all three of those match-ups. Now, 'The Action Man' has a golden opportunity to replace Till in what will be the former's highest-profile bout to date.

Although Curtis isn't the most well-known middleweight, defeating Hermansson would immediately insert himself into the conversation as a contender. Hermansson is only the No.8-ranked middleweight, but everyone ranked higher than him has already been bested by Adesanya, barring Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira, the two competitors from UFC 276's title-eliminator bout.

Strickland would make for an interesting match-up, yet he would be coming off a loss to Pereira. It's entirely possible that Adesanya will need a fresh face if he is able to get past Pereira, in which case Curtis could find his name called.