Jack Hermansson on how he matches up with Israel Adesanya: 'He is the superior striker and I am the superior grappler!'

UFC Middleweight contender Jack Hermansson explained how he matches up with champion Israel Adesanya. Speaking with Submission Radio, the 'Joker' said:

"He (Adesanya) won’t like our fight going to the ground. We can be honest, he is the superior striker and I am the superior grappler. He cannot hang with me in there. I will fight Adesanya in the winter (2021) or something after he’s done with that light heavyweight thing."

Hermansson was due to take on Darren Till at the main event of UFC Fight Night at Las Vegas on December 5th, but the Englishman had to pull out due to a knee injury. The #4 ranked contender will now be fighting Kevin Holland at the main event as he attempts to stake his claim to the title.

They only put his name first because of alphabetical order. I respect that. @jackthejokermma 🃏👊 🦇 #ufc #ufcfightnight pic.twitter.com/ETnK33q6hX

— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) November 14, 2020

Speaking of the cancelled fight, the Swedish fighter said:

"Yeah, this Friday, I got that call that Till was injured. And I believe it was his knee again if I’m correct, I’m not a 100% sure… Yeah, it really really sucks because I was looking forward to that fight so much. I’ve been visualizing fighting Till every single day, we were working so hard for that southpaw stance, for his style. So much work went into it, and suddenly he is out.

"But it is a part of the sport, we know it can happen. I’ve never pulled out of a fight actually, but someday it might be my turn if I’m unlucky so no hard feeling against Darren."

Jack Hermansson will fight Kevin Holland in December

Kevin Holland has had a breakthrough year inside the Octagon, picking up four victories already in the year. If he manages to beat Hermansson in December, he'd be third UFC fighter to go 5-0 in a year.

Charlie Ontiveros punches Kevin Holland in a middleweight bout

However, Hermansson is clearly a step up in competition for Holland who is still outside the Top 15 of the middleweight division. Despite being a well-rounded fighter, the American has to be wary of the Swedish man's ground game, especially his modified guillotine choke and leg attacks.