“Don’t think he deserved that,” Jared Cannonier shows true sportsmanship in his defence of Israel Adesanya’s performance at UFC 276

“Don’t think he deserved that,” Jared Cannonier shows true sportsmanship in his defence of Israel Adesanya’s performance at UFC 276

Jared Cannonier vs Israel Adesanya [Image Source - CBS Sports]

Jared Cannonier is a hell of a fighter  – having minted knockouts in three divisions, namely the middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, his power is something to be reckoned with, by any fighter who fights at 185 pounds, or more.

Cannonier will take on Sean Strickland this weekend at the Apex, a fight which will most likely play out as the title eliminator for the second part of next year. With it only likely that Israel Adesanya will rematch Alex Pereira for the belt, it is fair to assume that the UFC is already preparing for a title challenger, once that fight is done.

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That being said, if it is indeed Cannonier who wins, and faces “The Last Stylebender” again, his experience in their first fight will give him a better roadmap inside the octagon. In their fight in July, Adesanya looked very gun shy and was content with outpointing the American to a decision win. As a result, fans made their feelings known, lambasting the former champion for his lacklustre performance.

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“The Killa Gorilla”, however, doesn’t see eye to eye with fans on this one. He said, “Everybody sh*t on him, and I don’t think he deserved that. He did exactly what I expected him to do – avoid the danger that I bring and try to lay down his game as best as he can.”

Related- “Focus on talking crap,” Jared Cannonier promises not to let Sean Strickland open his mouth inside the octagon

Jared Cannonier can expect to mount another title challenge with a win on Saturday

Jared Cannonier [Image Source - MMA Junkie]
Jared Cannonier [Image Source – MMA Junkie]

As has been expressed – Cannonier has the ability to knock anyone out, and it only takes one punch. Although that wasn’t quite the vein in which he secured the finish against Derek Brunson earlier this year, he still managed to hurt Brunson badly, before bouncing his head off the canvas with nasty ground and pound.

In similar fashion, he managed to inundate Jack Hermansson with pressure on the feet back in 2019, before finding his stride and finishing the fight. Although he has a loss to Robert Whittaker on his resume, his time at middleweight has been pretty fruitful.

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Moving forward, there doesn’t seem to be a dearth of talent who could fight for the title at middleweight. The winner of Saturday’s fight could expect to fight for the title in 2023, or fight once more before the eventual title shot is handed to them.

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