Israel Adesanya was subject to some heavy criticism from the MMA community for his seemingly lackluster performance against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. However, according to Brendan Schaub, the reason the fight lacked excitement may not be Adesanya's fault at all.
Former 185-pound champion Israel Adesanya successfully defended his middleweight title for the fifth time at UFC 276. Despite the historic magnitude of the event, Adesanya was reduced to tears after realizing he had delivered a subpar performance compared to the standard he had previously set in the UFC.
Brendan Schaub is adamant that Israel Adesanya is not the one to be blamed for the outcome of the UFC 276 headlining bout. The former UFC heavyweight alluded to the adage "it takes two to tango" when describing Jared Cannonier's split decision victory over Sean Strickland in the final UFC event of 2022.
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Speaking on the latest episode of The Schaub Show, Schaub said:
"I think this is more of a matter of Jared Cannonier against Izzy [Israel Adesanya], Jared Cannonier against a lot of people. He's just a tough cookie to figure out. He makes guys just look kind of basic or average. There's just something about Jared's fighting style that guy's get out of what got them into the dance... Creates kind of this boring fighting style."
Catch Brendan Schaub's comments (16:45) below:
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Jared Cannonier eyes a potential rematch against Israel Adesanya following victory over Sean Strickland
UFC Vegas 66's main event saw Jared Cannonier return to winning ways with a split decision victory over Sean Strickland. Despite the fight being a closely contested bout, 'Tha Killa Gorilla' is already making plans for 2023.
Cannonier, who is presently placed third in the middleweight rankings, desires to make another run at the championship. After his win over Strickland, he emphasized that the title is his primary goal. In his post-fight octagon interview, Cannonier said:
"I would definitely like another title shot, sooner rather than later. At this point, I'm ranked No.3. I just beat No.6. I believe Whittaker and Costa are scheduled to fight next year. Adesanya doesn't have a partner, [UFC] hasn't scheduled the rematch yet. So anybody above me that will get me to the title fight or the title fight is what we're shooting for."
Check out Jared Cannonier's post-fight interview below: