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UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya truly has an air of invincibility around him when he competes at 185lbs. He is yet to lose a fight in his natural weight class and has looked dominant in nearly every performance. However, there are areas of his game that opponents can exploit.
There are arguably several reasons these potential weaknesses have not been brought to the forefront yet. Chief among them is that Adesanya is an exceptional fighter and has crafted a style that often forces his opponents to play into his game rather than impose their own.
There is also a slight lack of variety of opponents in the middleweight division. Many of the top 15 employ similar methods to achieve victory, which means that Adesanya is rarely tested in new ways.
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In the following list, we will look at three potential weaknesses that Israel Adesanya's future opponents may be able to exploit.
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#3 Forcing Israel Adesanya to engage
This point is primarily based on two factors. First, the majority of fighters that Adesanya has faced at 185lbs have been extremely aggressive. Paulo Costa, Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum all attempted to push the pace in their fights. This is where Adesanya is at his most dangerous, both due to his countering and use of feints.
The feints will often freeze their opponents as they step in, disrupting their attack rhythm which creates openings. Alternatively, Adesanya's movement and spatial awareness are so adept that he is always there to hit opponents with a stinging counter whenever they over-extend.
However, when Adesanya fought Yoel Romero, he was not given the option to counter because Romero refused to advance on him. The result was an incredibly dull affair, although the danger from Adesanya was significantly reduced, and many believed that Romero should have won the fight.
#2 Body shots
There is not as much evidence to support this second potential weakness. However, using body shots could be an option for Adesanya's opponents. At UFC 263, Marvin Vettori continually backed Israel Adesanya up against the fence, only to throw shots at the head and then shoot for a takedown.
Israel Adesanya's head movement, counter game and takedown/wrestling defense meant that he constantly got the better of the Italian. However, Vettori refused to aim for the body, preferring to headhunt. This is despite Adesanya's mid section looking like a glaring target, where he would be unable to avoid shots coming his way.
This is a more theoretical weakness than a proven one. However, until we see a fighter fail with such a strategy, it remains a legitimate option.
#1 Open mat takedowns
There is a trend in the UFC's middleweight division for fighters to shoot for takedowns against the cage. Once again, the example of Marvin Vettori comes to mind, as time after time, he pressured Adesanya to the edge of the octagon before shooting for a double leg.
The middleweight champion is an expert at utilizing the cage to either stop a takedown outright or aid him in getting back to his feet. This was the case in nearly every round against Vettori, with the Italian unable to impose himself through the wrestling side of the fight.
However, in Israel Adesanya's lone loss, albeit to a much heavier and larger Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight, he was taken down multiple times in the center of the octagon. Not only was he taken down, but he was was held there, with much of his usual damaging tools rendered completely ineffective.
Now, this is undeniably in part due to Blachowicz's size advantage. But Israel Adesanya's wrestling get-ups are severely limited if he cannot use the cage.
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