Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero: A Head-to-Toe Breakdown

UFC 248 features two of the most menacing middleweights in the world today in a massive championship clash nobody expected to happen so soon.

In choosing Yoel Romero for his first UFC title defense, Israel Adesanya is daring to be great. It promises to be a tremendous fight that could go either way. 

UFC 248 takes place Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The show will be available in the United States exclusively on ESPN+ pay-per-view. 

But how do the fighters stack up against each other? And who will win?

Here's a head-to-toe breakdown of Adesanya vs. Romero. 

Striking

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Adesanya is a striking savant operating in his prime. While he only started training nine years ago, he went 75-5 as a professional kickboxer and 5-1 as a boxer in addition to what he's done during his MMA career.  

Those experiences helped him become an incredible UFC fighter. He's tied for third for the most knockdowns in the history of the middleweight division (10) and is a master striker of the highest order. He's smart, and he knows how to feint and trick his opponents into wrong moves. He fights relaxed, and his combinations flow out of him as if they were water from a spring.

But Romero is no slouch. While his stalwart wrestling credentials are almost always the first thing people associate with him, Romero mostly uses his striking skills in fights.

Romero isn't near the kickboxer or even boxer Adesanya is, but he's an incredible athlete with explosive power. Add to that the fact his attacks are varied, unpredictable and a tidal wave of destructive violence, and Romero isn't in deep waters on his feet against Adesanya as most other opponents would be.

Remember how Adesanya was tied for the third most knockdowns in the division ever? He's tied with Romero. 

Still, Adesanya is 12 years younger than 42-year-old Romero. He'll also enjoy a four-inch height advantage on the 6'0" slugger and have the Cuban beat in reach by nearly seven inches.

Adesanya is the better striker overall, but he'll have to be on his A-game for five full rounds to minimize the damage of Romero's wildly dangerous onslaughts.

Edge: Adesanya

Grappling

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Adesanya almost exclusively relies on striking. Everything about his style is geared to keeping him on his feet. He's done an outstanding job of it so far in the UFC. His 85.7 percent takedown defense is the second highest in the history of the division.

But he'll have his work cut out for him against Romero.

While the challenger's athleticism helped him become one of the most dangerous standup fighters in the sport, Romero's wrestling credentials couldn't be better. 

He was a world champion in 1999 and won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics. While he doesn't always seem superanxious to use those skills inside the Octagon, he will use that special skill whenever the moment most calls for it in close fights, such as his debatable loss to Paulo Costa last year at UFC 241.

That would seem to be the case against Adesanya. Romero is sharp on his feet, but if the fighter mixes in takedowns at the right moments, he might finally grab the UFC title that has yet to materialize in three other tries.

Edge: Romero

Submissions

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Romero would likely have the natural edge in positioning on the mat due to his elite wrestling background, but he's not known as a submission artist. He doesn't attempt submissions and hasn't scored one in any of his professional MMA contests.

Adesanya is the same in that department but minus Romero's amazing wrestling skills. His game is mostly predicated on his elite striking, and he avoids going to the mat at all costs.

Like Romero, Adesanya has never won a fight via submission.

Edge: Tie

X-Factors

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 Adesanya's X-Factor: Patience 

Adesanya can't get lured into a firefight with Romero as he did against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236. He also shouldn't gun for the knockout as soon as he did against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243.

His best approach would be to break Romero down over time and only take chances when he's sure he'll have nothing coming back at him. Even then, fighting to score points and nab the decision would be the best way to go.

Romero is too dangerous for anything else. 

Romero's X-Factor: Wrestling

Romero has been the better wrestler than every single opponent he's faced in the UFC, but he's used that skill as if it were frowned upon or ineffective.

There would be no better time to break out his stalwart wrestling game than at UFC 248. By mixing it in to keep Adesanya guessing at his already wacky attacks, it could open the door for Romero to land something big and end the night with one blow.

Prediction

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Adesanya should be credited for taking the fight against Romero.

After Costa was awarded the decision against Romero at UFC 241, there wasn't a path for arguably the most dangerous middleweight in the division to get a title shot until Costa's injury forced Adesanya and the UFC to look for another opponent. 

Romero is one of the best fighters in UFC history to never capture gold. Part of that story is how he's missed making weight at key times in his career.

Another big piece is that decisions just never seem to go his way. Something tells me that changes this weekend against Adesanya.

Facing Romero was bold move by the champ, but it was the wrong one. 

Prediction: Adesanya is sharp early, but Romero charges late and earns the victory on the judges' scorecards via split decision.