Israel
Adesanya gave his predictions for every fight on the UFC
299 main card, barring one.
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The UFC 299 main card will be opened by bantamweight contender
Yadong
Song (21-7) and former champ Petr Yan
(16-5) at Kaseya Center in Miami this weekend. Yadong is riding a
two-fight winning streak and is 5-1 in his last six outings.
Meanwhile, Yan is on a three-fight skid, albeit all against the
highest level of competition. While some consider Yan a slow
starter, Adesanya believes “No Mercy” will come out all guns
blazing for a three-rounder and emerge victorious.
“I like Yan, I like Song Yadong but I like Yan and I’m a fan of his
style,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “But I just don’t see
him losing four in a row. I’m going to go Yan by UD [unanimous
decision]. Three Rounds? He might come out different, like just
crazy… It’s a three-round, it’s the first fight of the
pay-per-view… So I think Yan is gonna come out crazy with this
one. I’m going to go Yan and he might outperform Song Yadong.”
Former welterweight title contender Gilbert
Burns (22-6) will challenge surging Australian standout
Jack Della Maddalena (16-2). Burns went 2-1 in 2023 and is
coming off a unanimous decision loss against Belal
Muhammad. Meanwhile, Maddalena is undefeated in six UFC outings
and will enter the Octagon on the heels of a split-decision win
over Kevin
Holland. Adesanya expects Maddalena to get his hands raised
with his striking advantage over Burns.
“If I’m going to pick someone, I’m going to pick Jack. I wouldn’t
say recency bias or he’s younger or anything, but JDM can deliver
punishment. And I just see him managing his distance well unless
Gilbert can take him down and use his superior jiu-jitsu against
him. Depends whose back is on the fence… JDM [official pick], I’m
good with a decision but I will not be surprised if it was a
TKO.”
Former Bellator
MMA superstar Michael
Page (21-2) will make his promotional debut against the
aforementioned Holland (25-10). Being good friends with Page,
Adesanya wants and also believes that “Venom” will knock Holland
out.
“To be honest, I want MVP to go in there and snipe this guy, but I
just know Kevin is not one to just like back down. He’s going to
bring the fight, which could make it even easier for Michael to
just find the shot and put him away. I’m gonna go MVP in this
fight. I think it’s going to be a knockout.”
Perennial lightweight elite Dustin
Poirier (29-8) will take on surging finisher Benoit Saint-Denis
(13-1) in the co-main event. Saint-Denis is riding a five-fight
finish streak after suffering his lone career loss in his UFC
debut. Meanwhile, Poirier is coming off a head-kick KO loss against
Justin
Gaethje and has gone 1-2 in his last three. However, Adesanya
believes Poirier’s recent losses don’t define him and expects “The
Diamond” to get his hands raised against the Frenchman.
“I’m gonna go Dustin just cause he’s Dustin Poirier. He’s a veteran
in this, ‘The Diamond’ and he’s done so much. I know he’s had some
losses and what not but they don’t really define him. I’m going to
go Dustin, maybe a late stoppage.”
Adesanya surprisingly refused to make a pick for the main event of
the night, which features Sean O’Malley (17-1) putting his
bantamweight title on the line against Marlon Vera
(23-8) in a bid to avenge a 2020 loss.