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Israel Adesanya opened up about what was said in his mid-fight verbal exchanges with Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on July 2. The fight witnessed ‘The Last Stylebender’ defend his UFC middleweight title by defeating Cannonier via unanimous decision.
In a video posted to his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya stated that he didn’t take his foot off the gas for majority of the five-round fight. ‘Izzy’ noted, however, that he did slow down when Cannonier held him in the clinch position against the octagon fence. Adesanya stated:
“Literally, at one point, he goes, ‘You don’t like wrestling, do you?’ I was like, ‘Well, take me down then.’ I was still hitting him. I was still trying to hit him from that clinch position.”
Furthermore, Adesanya emphasized that he knew Cannonier won’t be able to hold him there forever and would eventually get tired. ‘Izzy’ recalled breaking free when Cannonier's grip in the clinch weakened and then immediately pressuring ‘The Killa Gorilla.’
Adesanya highlighted that he was catching Cannonier in their striking exchanges but was unable to land the power shots that would’ve put him away. When asked if they engaged in any other mid-fight verbal exchanges, Adesanya said:
"Early on, yeah. I think I said, ‘Easy.’ I jabbed him. I was just jabbing him easy, and I was like, ‘Easy.’ You know, ‘Do it again, do it again.’"
When asked if Cannonier really asked him to jab again, Adesanya said,
“Yeah. That’s what he responded, ‘Do it again.’ And then, I was just like, ‘I’m not gonna engage in this with him. I’m just gonna keep finding the spot.’ But this is the nature of the game.”
Watch Adesanya discuss the topic at 8:27 in the video below:
Michael Bisping criticizes Israel Adesanya for letting fans down at UFC 276
Presently, the consensus is that Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against longtime rival Alex Pereira next. However, in regards to the Jared Cannonier matchup, ‘Izzy’ has received harsh criticism from many, including former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping.
On BT Sport’s UFC 276 review show, Bisping acknowledged that Israel Adesanya’s job is to win his fights irrespective of whether or not he does so in entertaining fashion. Nevertheless, he believes Adesanya let many fans down, particularly those who attended the event in person. Bisping said:
"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."
Watch Bisping’s assessment below:
