They knew the finish was coming - Israel Adesanya on how Jared Cannonier's corner saved him from getting KO'd at UFC 276

Israel Adesanya reflected on his most recent title defense against Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 headliner. In an interaction with Dave Blakamoto on his Freestylebender YouTube channel, the UFC middleweight champion suggested that he may have been just inches away from finishing 'The Killa Goriliia' but it was the challenger's corner that saved him.

Adesanya also gave props to Jared Cannonier's corner for devising the smart strategy. Here's what the middleweight champion said:

"I was trying to find the shot. I went to the body, eventually I stopped, 'Why are you head hunting? Relax!' But I was like, 'Go to the body, go back to the legs and everything,' I started opening up, but he was adjusting well. That's something I'll give his corner. I think it was his team. At one point even they knew the back kick was coming because maybe the way I loaded it up or something, I don't know. Good team!"

Watch Adesanya look back on his fight against Jared Cannonier below:

Israel Adesanya recorded his fifth successful title defense and remained unbeaten at middleweight when he edged out Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision. 'The Last Stylebender' picked up his third consecutive decision win with the performance.

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Israel Adesanya claims they already have a date for Alex Pereira fight

After beating Cannonier, Israel Adesanya made it clear that he intends to face former Glory Kickboxing foe Alex Pereira in his next title defense. 'The Last Stylebender' has now revealed that the fight is already in the works and that they have already agreed upon a date.

During the same interview with Dave Blakamoto, here's what the 33-year-old said about the matchup:

"We've got a date, we’ve already sussed it out. We're already planning... Yeah we're sussed with it."

Alex Pereira was fast-tracked into a title shot to set up a third showdown between the Brazilian and Adesanya.

'Poatan' is the only man to ever knockout 'The Last Stylebender'. The Brazilian holds a pair of wins over Adesanya and is hoping to score another win against the reigning UFC middleweight king, this time in MMA.

Pereira is coming off an impressive first-round knockout of Sean Strickland on the same card Adesanya made his last title defense.