Possible challenger for the belt, Poatan sees Adesanya comfortable and rules out a monotonous confrontation: 'I'm going to make him fight'

Featured in UFC 276, held last Saturday (2), Alex Poatán There are plenty of reasons to celebrate. Beyond trample Sean Strickland and maintain 100% success in the company, the Brazilian may have secured a title fight in the middleweight division (up to 83,9kg.). Moments after his victory, the São Paulo native spoke exclusively to SUPER FIGHTS and analyzed both its positive result and the possibility of facing Israel adesanya in sequence.

The weekend's appearance marked Poatan's third appearance with the Ultimate gloves. Now, the fighter has three consecutive victories, two of which were by knockout.

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VIDEO: Watch Alex Poatan's brutal knockout of Sean Strickland at UFC 276

Strickland fight review

Opponent of Sean Strickland No. UFC 276, Poatan was not intimidated when competing in his most important fight in his MMA career to date. Committed, the Brazilian needed less than a minute to deliver a tough knockout against the American 'bad boy'. After the massacre, the athlete evaluated the feat.

“I managed to maintain our strategy, which was to keep hurting. I always said he would move forward. She was sure that, at some point, he would seek the fall. (…) We couldn’t see this attitude or my takedown defenses. Everything was as expected. (…) I was kicking, throwing stronger blows and he was just 'releasing'. (…) I wanted to kick his legs, his calf, his thigh. I put strikes on the waist line and managed to connect with the left cross”, he described.

Adesanya, here I come

In the week before the event, UFC president Dana White had assured that, in the event of Alex's victory, the Brazilian would automatically qualify for a title fight. With the stunning knockout over the North American, the athlete then follows through on his plan and talks about a possible clash for the middleweight throne.

“I’ve already sunk in. We planned it, it was nothing by chance. (…) I'm not venturing out. From the moment I arrived, I said I would be the champion. What else do I need to do? 'There are only three fights'. Okay, but that's not all that counts, even outside of MMA. That counts”, he guaranteed.

Disappointment with Israel

Executioner of the middleweight champion twice (2016 and 2017) in his kickboxing days, Poatan hopes to revive the rivalry within mixed martial arts. The São Paulo native, however, does not hide his disappointment with the Nigerian's performance against Jared Cannonier, when he beat the North American by points in a warm fight. With an eye on the title, the Tupiniquim guarantees that there will be no chance of a monotonous clash.

“It (the fight) won’t get boring. I'm sure it won't. I'm going to make him fight. He does better than that, but he's complacent. If you don't do better than that, you will be left behind. I didn’t see anything today,” he explained.

Athletes' history

No UFC 276, Alex Poatán reached the mark of seven commitments as a professional in MMA. Now, the athlete has six triumphs and one stumble in his career.

Victorious in the clash against Cannonier, Adesanya extended his unbeaten run in the featherweight division. In addition to remaining undefeated in the category, the fighter reached five belt defenses.