Watch: Stephen Thompson breaks down how Israel Adesanya can beat Jan Blachowicz

Anticipation for the UFC light heavyweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and champion Jan Blachowicz is high. While many experts have shared their thoughts on the stylistic matchup, nothing compares with the breakdown of a fighter who has been there done that. Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson recently broke down the UFC 259 main event and picked the winner of this fight.

Stephen Thompson is a top UFC welterweight and one of the most decorated strikers in the sport. In the breakdown video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Wonderboy and 'Sweet T' Tony Thompson compared various aspects of Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz's fighting style to discuss the keys for Adesanya's victory.

Sweet T and Wonderboy assessed Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz's profile before delving into the technique breakdown. The sibling duo concluded that the fight between the champions is a battle of intelligence and power. While Israel Adesanya has an overall better skillset, Jan Blachowicz has the necessary physicality and strength to thwart the Stylebender's intelligent planning and masterful approach.

"Number one, he's (Israel Adesanya) got the reach advantage. I think he's a very calm fighter and the better counter striker of the two and one of the best counter strikers in the UFC. You've seen it time and time again... He's just an intelligent guy when he's out there. He's smart and very rarely does he put himself in bad situations. His takedown defense and clinch work are very very good," Stephen Thompson said.

"Jan seems to be the bigger guy but he's also intelligent. He's also a smart fighter, super experienced. He just took out Dominick Reyes who's also a tall, long guy and also a good counter striker. Is his power, his size going to be enough to thwart Izzy's intelligence and his range? That is the question," Tony Thompson said.

What are Israel Adesanya's keys to victory according to Stephen Thompson?

Stephen Thompson agrees with most MMA experts that not getting hit by Jan Blachowicz's strikes is of paramount importance for Israel Adesanya. Wonderboy listed leg kicks and feints along with framing and defense as three keys to Stylebender's victory and demonstrated the technique with examples from some of Adesanya's previous performances.

"So Adesanya is the taller guy, he's gonna have to keep his opponent at bay and not let him close the gap, slow him down and one of the best ways to do it, one that he's very good at is leg kicks," Stephen Thompson said.

"Number two, trying to get Jan Blachowicz to reach. How does he do that? Feints. He's got to feint him like crazy," Stephen Thompson said.

Although it is impossible to predict the outcome of MMA fights on the basis of previous performances, Wonderboy does believe that Israel Adesanya will emerge victorious against Jan Blachowicz to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion.

Israel Adesanya and champion Jan Blachowicz are scheduled to fight for the UFC light heavyweight title in the headliner of UFC 259. The event will take place at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 6, 2021.