"I'm glad he didn't fumble this time" - Israel Adesanya recalls first meeting with Jared Cannonier

Israel Adesanya recalled his first meeting with Jared Cannonier in New York a few years ago. The middleweight champ said they were both in attendance for a UFC event and Cannonier was seated a few rows behind him. Adesanya greeted him and apparently even expressed a desire to defend the belt against him down the line.

Well, the champ sure did get what he wanted as Adesanya will face Cannonier in the main event of UFC 276 this weekend. 'The Last Stylebender' is a man of his word as he told Cannonier he'd give him a title shot and didn't refuse to fight him when the time arrived.

The Nigerian-born Kiwi is also glad that Cannonier also proved himself to be a worthy contender and earned his shot at the title.

Adesanya further added that he doesn't want to pad his record by fighting mediocre fighters. Instead, he wants to compete against the most elite fighters in the division and prove to be the greatest of them all.

During a recent interaction with Sportskeeda MMA's James Lynch, Israel Adesanya said:

"I remember he was a few rows behind me. I saw him and I said 'what's up?' and I expressed my interest to fight him back then so I remember it and I'm a man of my word and here we are... People pick and choose their opponents on the way up to the UFC because they want to pad their records. When I'm in the UFC, I pick and choose my opponents because I want to pad my records with legit contenders so I picked and choose them from a while back and I'm glad he didn't fumble this time and he he made it to the dance."

Watch the full interview with 'The Last Stylebender' below:

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Israel Adesanya reveals why he wants to fight Alex Pereira as early as possible

Although he's fighting Jared Cannonier this weekend, Israel Adesanya has former foe Alex Pereira in his sights. 'Poatan' will be competing on the same card as Adesanya on July 2 and will face fellow contender Sean Strickland on the night. If he manages to beat 'Tarzan', Pereira could be fighting for the title next.

Pereira happens to be the only man on the planet to have knocked 'The Last Stylebender' has knocked out in a fight. The Brazilian has two wins over the reigning middleweight champion from their kickboxing days and Adesanya can't wait to avenge the losses inside the cage.

Having said that, the 32-year-old knows that although Pereira doesn't have a lot of experience in MMA, he will get better with time. That's why Israel Adesanya feels it's better if he gets to defend the title against the Brazilian sooner rather than later. He said:

"This guy's only had like four or five fights [and could fight for the title next], [that's] something crazy so you know what they're doing but I like this because I get to take him out early. He's gonna get good but not right now."