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Israel Adesanya comfortably defeated Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC 276. The victory marked his fifth middleweight title defense, cementing his position as the undisputed champion.
However, his victory was not devoid of criticism despite being a dominant, unanimous decision win. Adesanya was not threatened by Cannonier throughout the fight, coasting his way to a successful defense.
Michael Bisping had a problem with the lack of fireworks in the bout. On BT Sport's UFC 276 review show, Bisping stated:
"Israel Adesanya showed once again his technical brilliance. Problem is, that was never in question. People always knew he was technically fantastic, and you know, without flaw. What I wanted to see was a little more urgency, a willingness to entertain the 20,000 people that have paid for very expensive tickets."
The former UFC fighter expressed his concern for fans who attended the event, expected a show, and willingly shelled out money for tickets. Furthermore, he expanded:
"However: and still. That is the main thing. The walk, as we know here, was legendary. And he came out, and he was ahead in every round. I agree with 50-45. But as I say, a sense of urgency from both men was what was required. Listen, at the end of the day, Adesanya did what he set out to do. That was defend the belt. But however, he's not wowing audiences. He would probably say that's not his job, his job is to win fights and that's what he did."
Check out Michael Bisping's comments here:
Israel Adesanya's cautious gameplans for title fights
The mastermind behind Adesanya's title defense is his coach, Eugene Bareman. The former amateur martial artist is the head trainer and founder of City Kickboxing in Adesanya's hometown of Auckland, New Zealand.
The middleweight champion credited his and Cannonier's coaches for their excellent gameplans. Adesanya paid tribute in his octagon interview with Joe Rogan:
"One thing I was looking forward to was facing Jared as an oppnent. But the second thing I was looking forward to was John Crouch vs. Eugene Bareman. Two great coaches, two great teams and I'll tell you on thing, they had an excellent gameplan. It was really hard to get my followups going, because they had a good gameplan and Jared has a fortitude in his mind."
Check out his comments in his post-fight interview:
