In a recent press conference, UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya made a bold prediction regarding his upcoming fight. UFC 276 will see the Kiwi defend his title against Jared Cannonier in the main event. According to the champ, the bout will look similar to how his bout against Paulo Costa went.
Although Izzy lost his bout against Jan Blachowicz, he is still the dominant force in the middleweight division. Stylebender has gone through Costa, Yoel Romero Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker since becoming the champ. But now he has a new challenge coming up in the form of Jared Cannonier.
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Jared is coming off a brilliant win over Derek Brunson at UFC 273. Cannonier was in a disadvantageous position in the first round of the bout. Brunson overpowered Cannonier for the majority of the contest till it lasted. But the Killa Gorilla made a strong comeback and finished Brunson off with vicious ground and pound.
Israel Adesanya predicts the outcome against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276
During Izzy’s interaction with the media, he was asked about his thoughts on Cannonier as his next opponent. In answer to that, Adesanya brought up Jared’s history as a heavyweight and light-heavyweight fighter. Cannonier had 1 fight at heavyweight and 5 at light-heavyweight in the UFC. Hence, Adesanya expects Cannonier to be very strong in the Octagon.
However, that did not stop Izzy from being his usual cocky self and declaring that he will beat Cannonier easily in a fun fight. Adesanya cited his bout against Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in 2020, as an example. Predicting the outcome of the bout, he stated,
“I honestly think I’ll make it look easy. I really believe I’ll make this look easy come July 3rd…. Prediction? I’ll give you a prediction. Its gonna be fun, its gonna be fun. It’s gonna look a lot like the Costa fight, minus the little tap-tap at the end.”
As usual, Israel Adesanya is the betting favourite ahead of his UFC 276 clash against Jared Cannonier. According to a report, Izzy is a -365 favourite to win the bout whereas Jared is the +280 underdog. Hence, it indicates that Izzy’s claims of making the bout seem easy may not be as far-fetched.
But Cannonier certainly has his plus points in the bout as well. As Izzy mentioned, Jared will definitely be one of the strongest fighters he has faced in the Octagon. On top of that, Cannonier is also a great wrestler who can take advantage of Izzy’s lack of wrestling credentials. Both Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker managed to take Izzy down.
But neither was strong enough to hold him there. Izzy is yet to encounter a situation where he is on the ground and the opponent is able to land shots on him. But with Cannonier, he will be at the risk of getting beat up on the ground if Izzy can not avoid Jared’s takedowns. It promises to be a great fight between two elite opponents at the biggest stage of them all.
Who do you think wins at UFC 276 between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier? Will Israel do what he does usually and dominate the bout? Or is there an upset on the cards? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
