EXCLUSIVE | Pro fighters make their picks for Israel Adesanya vs Kelvin Gastelum

In the co-main event of UFC 236 this Saturday, Israel Adesanya is set to take on Kelvin Gastelum for the UFC’s interim middleweight title.

Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. Although many think Adesanya will win, some just can’t count out Gastelum.

Here’s what they had to say.

BJPENN.com Fighter Picks: Israel Adesanya vs Kelvin Gastelum

Eryk Anders, UFC light heavyweight: I think Adesanya is going to finish him.

Max Griffin, UFC welterweight: Gastelum is my boy but Adesanya has been a wrecking ball. I am going to say Gastelum because I think he will get in there and land something. I don’t think he is scared of anything.

Jose Torres, Brave CF flyweight: Honestly, it is going to be a very good fight. I do see Gastelum coming out on top. He is just relentless and comes forward. If you give Adesanya space to breathe he is going to do his thing. I think Gastelum, he has shown he is a force to be reckoned with and outwork Adesanya and not give him enough space to do what he does best.

Austin Lingo, LFA featherweight: Oh, Adesanya. I want to say knockout.

Jason Knight, BKFC featherweight: Man, Israel is hot and I like him. Most likely Israel is going to do something spectacular like always. I am never going to count Gastelum out because he can knock out Adesanya. But I do think Adesanya will win.

Fernie Garcia,  LFA bantamweight: I think Gastelum is too experienced for Adesanya and can impose his grappling on him.

Randy Costa, UFC bantamweight: That is a tough one. I really like Izzy, I like his swag, how he fights, just everything. He knows something that we don’t know about this fight. But, that is not taking anything away from Gastelum. He is game. We don’t know how Izzy will do against a savage, gritty guy like Kelvin. I  don’t think Izzy will be able to catch him. I think it will be a long drawn out fight. We are going to see the championships, and I have no idea.

Khalil Rountree, UFC light heavyweight: I am going with Adesanya man. I think he will touch him up for five rounds. I think it goes the distance and he really just outclasses Kelvin. I know Gastelum has knockout power but Izzy is smart man and is really aware. I think he will be able to use his skills to go all five.

Diego Ferreira, UFC lightweight: Israel Adesanya by TKO.

Sodiq Yusuff, UFC featherweight: You don’t even need me to answer that question. But, Adesanya. He is long enough and he moves around to get around Kelvin’s shots. The pressure Kelvin puts on normally he is able to catch them sooner or later but he won’t be able to do that to Israel.

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Fighters picking Israel Adesanya: Eryk Anders, Austin Lingo, Jason Knight, Khalil Rountree, Diego Ferreira, Sodiq Yusuff

Fighters picking Kelvin Gastelum: Max Griffin, Fernie Garcia, Jose Torres

Fighters undecided: Randy Costa

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/11/2019