Jared Cannonier got his title shot by overcoming real adversity. In his previous bout, Cannonier was losing round 1 to Derek Brunson before turning it around in round 2 and ultimately bouncing his head off the canvas repeatedly.
This memorable performance earned him the title shot. He certainly has the striking power – though he’s not necessarily the most creative athlete out there.
Recently Cannonier took the chance to troll Adesanya with a viral clip of Jan Blachowicz.
Blachowicz was dismayed when he lost the belt to Glover Teixeira and compared it to eating s**t.
Cannonier went on to call out Adesanya – whose only loss in MMA is to Jan Blachowicz.
Adesanya took the call out in stride and replied:
Adesanya is a sizable betting favorite against Cannonier. He’s the-365 betting favorite in the upcoming UFC 276 pay-per-view (PPV) main event on July 2.
Adesanya previously said he aims to make the title defense look easy against Cannonier.
#UFC276 , I’m gonna make it look easy. pic.twitter.com/TtldcDMv2V
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) May 24, 2022
Eugene Bareman, Adesanya’s coach explained:
“So that is something that people underestimate about Jared. He is willing to – I don’t wanna say take risks – but take calculated judgments when the fight is not going his way and he needs to change something. And he’s willing to take a sharp turn to change it. That’s what makes him dangerous and that’s also, at the end of the day, what makes him vulnerable.”