Alexander Volkanovski revisits catching Israel Adesanya in a rare moment when they first met

Both Alexander Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya are in the midst of preparing for their respected upcoming title defenses at UFC 276. The Kiwi-Australian duo had a chance to spend some time together, which led to the reigning UFC featherweight champion recalling on video about the first time he met his middleweight counterpart.

In the clip shared on Adesanya’s YouTube channel, Alexander Volkanovski said:

“I mean, I do remember we’re in the water with the beach. We’re in the beach I don’t know what we did, we might have done some sprints or something. I remember he would go on there… He was going in the water and he was just soaking up the energy, you know what I mean. I’m starting to sort of understand that now like you know. I get, I get that but I never really get it.”

Watch Alexander Volkanovski recalling the first time he met Israel Adesanya in the video below:

As mentioned earlier, both ‘The Great’ and ‘The Last Stylebender’ are scheduled to defend their UFC belts at the upcoming UFC 276. Adesanya will take on Jared Canonnier while Alexander Volkanovski will close the trilogy against Max Holloway with the Aussie fighter being victorious in their previous two encounters at UFC 245 and UFC 251.

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Israel Adesanya on the importance of his UFC 276 fight

Part of preparing for a fight is a steady and healthy diet, and that’s why Volkanovski recently invited Adesanya to cook some kangaroo burgers. According to the Aussie fighter, kangaroo meat is high in protein but very lean, which makes it a wholesome meal.

During the meal preparation, Adesanya emphasized how important UFC 276 is for the entire Oceania region as both he and Volkanovski are scheduled to defend their titles in the last two bouts of the night. He also stated that this will be an event to be talked about for many years in the future.

Israel Adesanya said:

“This is huge for the Oceania region. Like dude, this is like… Look I’m starting to get chills thinking about it. Like years, 50 years down the line we will talk about that sh*t.”

Watch the Nigerian talk about the importance of his UFC 276 fight against Jared Cannonier in the video below: