Jared Cannonier will finally get his chance at UFC gold at UFC 276 this weekend when he takes on middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. This is far from the pair’s first meeting, however, as Cannonier revealed at the pre-fight press conference.
“It is intriguing to see the champ is picking and choosing his fights. And whatever he sees is intriguing to him. So it’s all good.
Cannonier Details “interesting” first backstage meeting with Israel Adesanya
We all know the dogs pissing and things like that. But what we don’t know is that backstage, me and him actually came face-to-face, and I introduced myself, because I had been a fan of his already; we were fighting on the same card. I thought that was pretty cool.
I congratulated him on his fight, because I got to watch his fight, and it was kind of interesting, because he was respectful, but it felt like he was kind of sizing me up at the same time. And he even said, ‘We’ll see each other.’ I was like, ‘Oh, well s***, if we do, let’s have a good-ass fight.’ He said, ‘Oh yeah.” He pretty much re-affirmed or re-asserted the fact that we’ll fight again.”
Jared Cannonier, aged 38, is ranked only behind Robert Whittaker in the UFC middleweight rankings. He earned his run at the champ with a two-fight win streak – including his most recent knockout victory over Derek Brunson – following a loss to Whittaker, which interrupted a previous three-fight streak including a victory over former champ Anderson Silva.
It’s been a long road to the title challenge, but Jared Cannonier is happy to be here, long after that fateful meeting all those years ago.
“It was pretty interesting that here we are now. We even took a picture with Mike, the post-fight ops guy, so we might be able to find that somewhere. So this thing has been brewing for quite a long time, way before the videos that we’ve seen out there.
I am happy to be in this position. I’m happy to have the challenge that Israel is going to bring. I expect it’s going to bring a different level out of me, and I plan on bringing a different level anyway. I’m excited, but I’m more prepared than exciting.”
Jared Cannonier has ten knockout victories to his name, but will need to deliver an all-time striking performance if he hopes to take out Israel Adesanya, one of the most lethal, precise strikers in the UFC.
Which way do you see the middleweight title clash at UFC 276 going? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyVKMHrnATs
