"Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night" - Israel Adesanya reacts to Jared Cannonier's claim of him being "easy money"

Israel Adesanya does not seem too bothered by Jared Cannonier's claim about the champion being an "easy" fight.

The UFC middleweight titleholder will defend his belt for the fifth time in the main event of UFC 276 against 'The Killa Gorilla'. The two have largely shown respect for each other in interviews. The challenger has also expressed admiration for 'The Last Stylebender' and his fighting style.

However, during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Cannonier claimed that the champion would be an easy fight for him. Responding to the comment in an appearance on Main Event, the middleweight king had this to say:

"My brother sent me something [Cannonier] was saying about me being easy money and I'm like, 'Okay! When?'... like, 'Okay sure.' I don't know what convinced him in that but I mean tell yourself whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night... I'm not an easy walk in the park for anyone."

Check out the entire interview with Israel Adesanya in the video below:

Adesanya currently holds an impressive MMA record of 22 wins and a solitary loss. His one defeat came against Jan Blachowicz while trying to win the 205lbs title at UFC 259. The Kiwi fighter is currently on a two-fight win streak with his most recent success coming against Robert Whittaker during their rematch at UFC 271.

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Javier Mendez weighs in on Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier at UFC 276

Coach Javier Mendez of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is regarded as one of the most experienced figures in the sport today. He has trained some of MMA's greatest fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier.

During a recent interaction with 'The Schmo', Mendez gave his take on the upcoming middleweight title fight between 'The Last Stylebender' and 'The Killa Gorilla':

"I don't know. Izzy's my guy. I love Izzy. He's just unbelievable. I like watching him fight. He's a showman. Obviously, he's shown his jiu-jitsu needs more work. Overall, that guy is a great fighter. I love watching him fight, so I can't go against him. Cannonier, can he take him out? Yeah, but it's gonna not be one of those 'easy, outstrike him.' It's gonna be one of those 'I landed a shot.'"

Check out Javier Mendez discuss Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier below: