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Israel Adesanya is all praise for the incredible fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane, which went down this past weekend at UFC 270.
Ngannou beat Gane via unanimous decision and emerged as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion following their title-unification bout. Adesanya, a good friend of the heavyweight champion, cheered for him while watching the live broadcast of UFC 270.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Adesanya and a few others can be seen reacting to the fights at UFC 270. Suggesting that Gane was successfully utilizing his movement to evade Ngannou’s famed power in the striking exchanges in the first two rounds, 'The Last Stylebender' stated:
“I know what he [Ciryl Gane] is doing. That’s why it’s frustrating for me ‘cause it’s working.”
Adesanya was undoubtedly delighted to see Ngannou secure a thunderous slam takedown and then a Judo throw against Gane in the third round. He insinuated that 'The Predator' ought to keep touching ‘Bon Gamin’, rather than load up with power shots.
The reigning UFC middleweight champion also acknowledged Ngannou’s valiant escapes from Gane’s kimura and heel-hook submission attempts.
Moreover, he was elated and jumped out of his seat after Ngannou reversed Gane’s takedown attempt and secured top position in the fifth round. Adesanya said after the fight:
“The main event? Wow! Amazing. Francis got it done. [He] was down two rounds, rallied up for the last three as a champion does. Now, the world is his oyster.”
Watch Israel Adesanya react to Francis Ngannou’s amazing performance below:
Robert Whittaker praises Israel Adesanya’s ability to fight tactically ahead of their UFC 271 rematch
The first fight between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker saw ‘The Last Stylebender’ win via second-round KO. That fight transpired at UFC 243 in October 2019.
Going into the first fight, Whittaker was the champion and Adesanya was the interim champion. They’re now set to clash in a rematch with 'The Last Stylebender' defending his UFC middleweight title against 'The Reaper' at UFC 271 on February 12th.
In a recent edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Whittaker lauded his longtime rival’s skill-set. Alluding to Adesanya’s smartness and tactical brilliance, ‘The Reaper’ said:
"[Israel Adesanya] is a good fighter. Props when they're due, like he's a good fighter. He's a great fighter. I think he fights really smart and tactically. You see, that's a good skill set to have. I think that's a massively underrated thing, especially at the top of the ladder, is doing what you need to do to win. Whether it be exciting or not for the crowd."
Watch the full interview below:
