Israel Adesanya will be paying close attention to the UFC 308 co-main event between fellow middleweights Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.

Whittaker and Chimaev will battle for a scheduled five rounds this Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Adesanya has faced Whittaker twice and is quite familiar with what “The Reaper” has to offer. But Chimaev’s wrestling is a major point of contention for the former champion, especially early on.

“I don’t think Rob is going to run through Khamzat,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “Finally we see (Chimaev) fight a legitimate middleweight, one of the best middleweights, one of the greatest middleweights of all time.

“I think Khamzat is going to attack him with the wrestling, so Rob is going to have to fight for his life initially, weather the storm, and I think it will be a wrestling-based attack. I think he’s going to try to introduce Rob. I don’t think he will back Rob. Yes, (Chimaev has a chance to strike), but I don’t think it’s a great chance to play with Rob because Rob will just shoot him. Rob just moves in and out, in and out, and then blitz.

“I think while Rob is blitzing, Khamzat will take him down. …I think if Khamzat is going to win, he’s going to have to do it in the first or second round and overtake Rob early with a submission. I don’t see him dropping Rob. He has a good stand-up and is also strong on the feet, just like the fight with Gilbert Burns and Kamaru (Usman). You can tell he’s ready to throw.

With Dana White saying Sean Strickland is likely next for 185-pound champion Dricus du Plessis, the stakes are still extremely high for both Whittaker and Chimaev, with the winner likely sitting in the on-deck circle for a chance to to capture the middleweight crown.

Regardless of who emerges victorious, Adesanya is confident the judges will not be needed. Ultimately, it will come down to whether Whittaker can extend the fight into the championship rounds – which “The Last Stylebender” believes will happen.

“Rob, just weather the storm in rounds one and two, and then three, four, five, that’s it Rob,” Adesanya said. “But then again, Rob has fought a guy like Romero twice. Romero was hitting him with these damn crazy takedowns, trying to get him, and Rob said, ‘No, I’m getting up.’ So Rob knows his shit on the ground.

“How long will he be able to hold off Khamzat, and will he be able to stop Khamzat’s onslaught of takedowns and wrestling exchanges in the first two rounds? I’d say Khamzat will submit him at first if he’s going to win, and later Rob will just TKO him in round three, four or five. I don’t know which round, but one of them.

“But which one do I want to go with? I think Rob is just a guy you shouldn’t fuck with. I mean, watch his last fight so hopefully people remember who he is now. So I think Rob will do it again – maybe not this soon, definitely not this soon. …I think he’ll catch him later, but he’s got to weather the storm. He must survive until he can’t anymore. I’m going to use this Rob with a late finish.