Jack Hermansson says his ground game could be Israel Adesanya's kryptonite
Jack Hermansson thinks he has a unique style for the UFC middleweight division, and says his approach could be the key to defeating reigning champion Israel Adesanya.
Winner of five of his past six, Hermansson (21-5 MMA, 8-3 MMA) faces Kevin Holland in the UFC Fight Night main event on Dec. 5, where he’ll look to edge closer to a shot at middleweight champ Adesanya.
Hermansson knows that a win over the streaking, but unranked, Holland may not be enough to earn him a shot at gold, but he hopes that Adesanya (20-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is still undefeated by the time they meet.
No one has been able to hang with Adesanya on the feet, but Hermansson thinks the champion is yet to be tested on the ground, and says that he’s the man to do it.
“Whoever it is, if it’s Till, if it’s Costa or if it’s Whittaker, I don’t care,” Hermansson told MMA Junkie. “But after the next one, I definitely deserve a title shot and I feel like the fans deserve it as well. They wanna see him (Adesanya) against a new opponent, and I have different skills. I’m a great grappler, the best grappler in the division, the best ground and pound in the division, so I really believe it’s time for the world to see ‘The Stylebender’ against ‘The Joker.'”
He continued, “Nobody has been able to get Izzy (down). Yeah, somebody has taken him down briefly, but if I get him down, he’s gonna be in such great trouble and it has to be exciting for the fans to know that if I get him down to the ground, there’s a big possibility he doesn’t get out of there with his eyes open.”
Hermansson’s six career submission wins have come over the likes of jiu-jitsu black belts Gerald Meerschaert, David Branch, and, most recently, Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on ESPN+ 30 in July.