Israel Adesanya defends decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has defended his decision win over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276, which some fans found dull.
Adesanya won a clear unanimous decision against Cannonier in the main event of UFC 276 earlier this month, but the champ has been heavily criticized for not going for the finish despite cruising in the fight. Taking to his YouTube channel to respond to the criticism, Adesanya defended his performance in the fight.
“There was no bit in that fight where I took my foot off the gas in the sense I was coasting. I wasn’t coasting,” Adesanya said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“I was like, I’m gonna keep touching him, and I’m gonna keep touching him until he falls. I didn’t want to overcommit because if I overcommit, I knew he was going to counter me, or I would leave myself in a vulnerable position, and that’s stupid. But I was right there in his face. If you want to say I ran away in this fight, I don’t know how you’re gonna say that. I was right there in his face hitting him, striking with him. So I don’t know. People might try and say, ‘Oh, he’s this and that.’ Footwork was one of the main things. I took away 60 percent of his shots, his strikes. The other was just hand control, distance management, and just basics. My jab, things like that.”
Despite being criticized for his performance in the fight, at the end of the day, “The Last Stylebender” got his hand raised. He remains undefeated while fighting at 185lbs in the UFC, and now another big-ticket fight is up next for the champion when he takes on former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, but this time in the Octagon.
What did you think of the performance by Israel Adesanya against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276?
