Dan Hooker is unwavering in his conviction that Israel Adesanya will “wipe the floor” with Jarred Cannonier at UFC 276.
Hooker’s teammate, Adesanya, is set to defend his 185-pound belt for the sixth time this coming Saturday opposite Cannonier in the UFC’s International Fight Week card’s headline bout – but the 32-year-old clearly isn’t convinced the former heavyweight poses a threat to the defending champ, going as far as pigeon-holing him as a “muscle-bound striker.”
“It’s a silly fight. I think it’s another silly fight,” he asserted on The AllStar MMA Live.
“I’m not speculating. I’m telling you,” the Hangman continued, firm in his belief. “It’s not going to be that close”
“Sorry I killed the hype.”
Hooker clarified that those comments weren’t made through arrogance, but precedence. He’s simply witnessed ‘Stylebender’ conquer similar opponents in the past, and is certain history will repeat itself on July second.
“I’m not being a dick. I said this before the [Paulo Costa] fight – everyone’s going ‘Oh Paulo Costa’s pretty mean… he hits pretty hard and he’s got big muscles’ – like, it’s the same shit bro.”
“Let’s get real about the situation, like, does he have takedowns? Not really. Does he have good submissions, like a scrambling/wrestling game? Nah he doesn’t… You show me a muscle-bound striker that has ever done good against Israel.”
The Kiwi resolved that the middleweight champion’s speed and ability to manage and cover distance will make him too elusive for the likes of Cannonier.
“It’s just a style of fighter that he’s just built to look good against.”
“[Cannonier] can have all the belief in the world. You can believe in yourself so much – but his jab is so fast and so long, and when he starts kicking to the body, that self-belief just really takes a nose dive.”
Dan Hooker on The AllStar MMA Live show
While Hooker’s still excited to see his friend ‘do the dance’ and defend his belt, he was more intrigued by the other two bouts on the card featuring his City Kickboxing comrades – Alexander Volkanovski and Brad Riddell.
Riddell looks to bounce back against Jalin Turner after a recent loss to Rafael Fiziev. this lightweight clash sparked his interest.
“That’s a fight. I’m interested to see that fight.”
“[Max] Holloway [and] Volk too, that’s a fight. That’s a close fight man. Let’s see it. lets see the levels and the grow that Volk’s got. Let’s see how Brad approaches the situation.
“Israel and Cannonier? Like…” Hooker posited as he shrugged.
“You know what I mean?”
Fighter profile
Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya is a 32-year-old male fighter from Nigeria with 22 pro wins and 1 loss. Adesanya is scheduled to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier on Saturday, July 2, 2022.
Israel Adesanya’s recent form coming into this matchup
Israel Adesanya has gone 4-1 in the last 5 professional MMA fights.
- Win vs Robert Whittaker • Decision R5 5:00 • 2022-02-12
- Win vs Marvin Vettori • Decision R5 5:00 • 2021-06-12
- Loss vs Jan Błachowicz • Decision R5 5:00 • 2021-03-06
- Win vs Paulo Costa • KO/TKO R2 3:59 • 2020-09-26
- Win vs Yoel Romero • Decision R5 5:00 • 2020-03-07
Israel Adesanya’s next opponent: Jared “Killa Gorilla” Cannonier
Jared “Killa Gorilla” Cannonier’s recent form coming into this matchup
Jared “Killa Gorilla” Cannonier is a 38-year-old male fighter from the United States with 15 pro wins and 5 losses. Cannonier is scheduled to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier on Saturday, July 2, 2022.
Jared Cannonier has gone 4-1 in the last 5 professional MMA fights.
- Win vs Derek Brunson • KO/TKO R2 4:29 • 2022-02-12
- Win vs Kelvin Gastelum • Decision R5 5:00 • 2021-08-21
- Loss vs Robert Whittaker • Decision R3 5:00 • 2020-10-24
- Win vs Jack Hermansson • KO/TKO R2 0:27 • 2019-09-28
- Win vs Anderson Silva • KO/TKO R1 4:47 • 2019-05-11
How to watch and bet on Israel Adesanya vs Jared Cannonier
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