Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen is confident he would “destroy” UFC title holder Israel Adesanya: “He really exposed himself when he fought Pereira”

Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen is confident he would ‘destroy’ UFC title holder Israel Adesanya.

Apparently, Johnny Eblen (13-0 MMA) believes he has what it takes to defeat UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Adesanya (24-2 MMA) recently defeated Alex Pereira (7-2 MMA) in April of this year at UFC 287 to reclaim the championship belt. ‘The Last Stylebender’ KO’d Pereira at 4:21 of Round 2.

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have a history, they met twice in the kickboxing ring, with ‘Poatan’ being the victor both times. They have also met twice in the Octagon, at UFC 281 in November of 2022 where Pereira defeated Adesanya via TKO, and then Adesanya got his revenge at UFC 287 just last month.

It was during a recent interview with Peter Carroll for Ariel Helwani’s YouTube channel, that Eblen spoke about Adesanya saying (h/t MMANews):

“I think I destroy ‘Stylebender’. It’s just a bad match-up for him, I just mix things up too well. I wrestle, strike, and he really exposed himself when he fought Pereira, how bad his grappling was. So, I just think I’m a terrible match-up for him.”

Johnny ‘Diamond Hands’ Eblen, has a perfect record in the Octagon, most recently defeating Anatoly Tokov (31-3 MMA) by unanimous decision at Bellator 290 in February of this year.

Eblen, the current Bellator middleweight champion is also #6 in the Bellator men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

Obviously Eblen believes Adesanya’s grappling skills are sub-par, which he feels were evident in his fight against the 35-year-old Pereira.

Would you like to see the Bellator middleweight champion, Eblen, get in the Octagon for a super-fight with the UFC middleweight champion Adesanya? Do you agree with Eblen that it would be a no-contest with ‘Diamond Hands’ coming out the victor?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!