UFC 276: Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier Preview, Odds, Prediction

Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier meet in the main event of the UFC 276 this Saturday night. The Last Stylebender defends the UFC middleweight title against the Killa Gorilla, who was in pretty solid shape recently, which would eventually earn him a chance to attack the belt. Though, all the bookies believe in Adesanya, and he is a massive favorite coming into this battle. And how wouldn’t he be a favorite, as he still didn’t lose a single bout in this division.

Preview

Israel Adesanya (-450) won 22 MMA fights and lost only one, against Jan Blachowicz, which was for the light heavyweight title belt. Though, that didn’t discourage the Kiwi, who later got back to dominating the middleweight division by beating Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker, both in title defenses. 

What is even more important, both of these two fights were the second ones against these opponents, and he yet again proved superiority against these guys. Previously, Adesanya had two more title defenses against Paulo Costa, whom he brutally knocked out, and against Yoel Romero. All these wins, apart from the one against Costa, were via unanimous decision.

What can we say about Izzy that you already don’t know. He is the cocky version of Anderson Silva from his best days. Incredibly fast and reactive, fluid and adjustable, Adesanya dances in the octagon. His long reach and extremely versatile attacking arsenal is an unsolving enigma for the rivals. In the end, that is how he won all those bouts. 

Jared Cannonier (+340) earned a title chance at 38 years, and this bout is the crown of his exciting career. He started as a heavyweight, then dropped down to the light heavyweight division before becoming a middleweight, where he posted the majority of his successes. 

So far, he has five wins in the division and a loss, which was against Whittaker, a unanimous decision defeat. He beat David Branch, Anderson Silva, and Jack Hermansson, while after the failure against Whittaker, Cannonier was better than Kelvin Gastelum and Derek Brunson, against whom he escaped death before knocking out the rival.

The Killa Gorilla is a vicious puncher who can KO any guy in the division with one hit, making him extremely dangerous. He doesn’t have some technique or skills, but one lucky hit he fires could send anyone to the la-la land. He is hard to maneuver with due to his size, and even though Canonnier has very poor wrestling knowledge, it is hard to submit him.

Prediction

Adesanya is simply at another level for this guy. We do respect Cannonier and don’t mean to offend him, but simply the champion is better than him in pretty much all the essential aspects of the fight. He is faster, quicker, has more experience, his cardio is at a higher level, and he can finish the bout with one punch, too. 

That is why we believe the Last Stylebender won’t have too much trouble in beating this guy. The odds on his win are not high, but the risk, on the other hand, is very low. 

Pick: Adesanya wins