Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is envisioning Ian Garry having his hand raised over Shavkat Rakhmonov this weekend.
Garry has the opportunity to stake his claim for a first shot at the welterweight title on Saturday night, when he co-headlines the UC 310 pay-per-view opposite a fellow undefeated contender in Rakhmonov.
The Irishman was originally slated to return in the main event of next weekend's UFC Fight Night in Tampa against Joaquin Buckley. But with champ Belal Muhammad being forced out of his defense against "Nomad" in Las Vegas, "The Future" has stepped up for a title eliminator.
Despite never tasting defeat in his professional career, Garry will enter the cage as a sizable underdog on Dec. 7, with his line reading +295 compared to the Kazakh star at -375.
That, however, hasn't stopped one of the sport's best backing the Dublin native to get the job done at Rakhmonov's expense.
During a recent video uploaded to his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya broke down this weekend's numbered event at T-Mobile Arena.
"The Last Stylebender" gave a particularly thorough breakdown for the co-main event, which is arguably set to be the night's most anticipated matchup.
And when it comes to his prediction, Adesanya is expecting Garry's technical striking and underrated grappling to pave the way for an upset over Rakhmonov.
Shavkat, he's a mauler. ... Ian, second Irish sensation," Adesanya said. "I grappled with him (Garry), he's a good grappler...he's slick. He knows how to put things together well. You watch his striking, his distance, his awareness. ... That's where he's going to have an advantage in this fight.
I think he's going to be able to touch Shavkat. But he's got to be careful," Adesanya continued. "Use that jab, use the teep, keep Shavkat away. ... For me, I like this fight. I'mma go with Ian Garry. I think it's going to go to a decision. ... There was something he (Garry) was saying. I saw a clip of him at a press conference talking about Shavkat, talking about, 'I want to be the guy to take that 0 away.' That's the energy. That's that Goku spirit very few people have.
Garry will look to prove Adesanya's assessment correct come fight night in "Sin City," when he and his former training partner Rakhmonov feature on a PPV main card that will be topped by Alexandre Pantoja's latest flyweight title defense.
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