Israel Adesanya promises to make UFC 276 title defense against Jared Cannonier ‘look easy’

Israel Adesanya is looking to put on a show against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276, promising to make his fifth middleweight title defense “look easy”.

Adesanya, 32, will take on Cannonier during International Fight Week in July and will look to secure his first finish since he defeated Paulo Costa via second-round TKO in Sept. 2020.

“UFC 276, I’m gonna make it look easy,” Adesanya posted as a caption for a DM between him and City Kickboxing teammate Brad Riddell.

Adesanya will enter the contest as a considerable favorite, but ‘The Last Stylebender’ must be careful not to underestimate Cannonier as the matchup approaches.

‘The Killa Gorilla’ is 5-1 in his last six fights with standout victories over Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastelum, and Derek Brunson. He is currently #2 in the UFC middleweight rankings, having only lost to former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker since making his divisional debut in 2018.

By contrast, Adesanya is undefeated at middleweight and is considered one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. The Nigerian-born New Zealander holds title victories against Robert Whittaker (2x), Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori. He has all but cleared out the division.

UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier takes place on July 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.