Adesanya pulls no punches on title fight

It remains to be seen if Yoel Romero will present the toughest challenge of Israel Adesanya’s career, but the UFC middleweight champion isn’t convinced.

Adesanya (18-0) has heard all the talk about Romero (13-4), the Cuban powerhouse who will attempt to dethrone the Nigerian-born Kiwi at UFC 248 in Las Vegas on March 8 (NZ time).

He’s heard all about Romero’s reputation as the scariest man in the division, about how he’s a bad matchup for Adesanya and how the ‘‘Soldier of God’’ is the one to snap his unbeaten streak and end his phenomenal run in the UFC.

Adesanya has been in this position before. In fact, you only have to go back to his last fight, the title unification bout against Robert Whittaker, when many counted him out only for ‘‘The Last Stylebender’’ to respond with a stunning secondround knockout.

And while Adesanya is wary of the weapons in Romero’s arsenal, he’s confident it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before. ‘‘I’ve had some tough tests. Right now, I still think Kelvin [Gastelum] has been my toughest fight so far physically. Mentally, Anderson [Silva] has been my toughest fight so far. But, we’ll see,’’ Adesanya told Submission Radio.

‘‘The way the match is shaping up, I don’t really think he’s going to be. I think he’s going to be quite . . . not easy, but I’ll make it look easy.

‘‘I said that about the Robert fight, cause everyone was counting me out. And I said I’ll make it look easy.

‘‘And what did I do? I made it

Israel Adesanya on Yoel Romero, left look easy. I just feel that way for this one as well.

‘‘Yoel is a guy who’s fought someone who just stays in front of him. He stays in front of him, and yeah, he likes a punching bag, and that I am not.’’

Romero is renowned for his explosive power but it’s his patient approach which made it so effective, Adesanya said.

‘‘He’ll lull you into a false sense of security where you feel like you can kind of coast or you’re in control, and he’ll just explode. So, you have to stay on with him at all points. You can’t just drift off, you can’t just coast in your mind.’’

Prior to taking up mixed martial arts, Romero enjoyed a stellar wrestling career, including collecting a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics.

And with that an area of Adesanya’s game that continues to be questioned, he’s looking forward to silencing more doubters.

‘‘His wrestling I think should be his strong suit. Because he’s an Olympian, but he rarely ever uses it. So, I’m hoping he uses it in this fight. I want to see what that wrestling’s about.’’

‘‘I think he’s going to be quite . . . not easy, but I’ll make it look easy.’’