Israel Adesanya's coach, Eugene Bareman, provided his assessment of UFC middleweight number-one contender Jared Cannonier.
The City Kickboxing head coach stated that, despite the odds being in favor of his star pupil, Adesanya won't be taking Cannonier lightly. During an interview with Submission Radio, Bareman said:
"Jared is not Paulo Costa... If Israel is picking him off, Jared has shown in the past that he has the mindset to change the strategy. He will start to press Israel a little bit. He won't be as reluctant as Paulo Costa was. That's just his mindset. He has a much stronger mindset and understanding and he's got a very good team behind him."
Bareman proceeded to explain how he believes Cannonier's greatest strength can be exploited. The Kiwi MMA trainer added:
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"So that is something that people underestimate about Jared. He is willing to – I don't wanna say take risks – but take calculated judgments when the fight is not going his way and he needs to change something. And he's willing to take a sharp turn to change it. That's what makes him dangerous and that's also, at the end of the day, what makes him vulnerable."
Catch Eugene Bareman's interview in the clip below:
Israel Adesanya vows to make Jared Cannonier fight "look easy"
Israel Adesanya appears to be extremely confident ahead of his title fight against Jared Cannonier at UFC 275 during International Fight Week.
'The Last Stylebender' vowed to secure his fifth consecutive title defense and "make it look easy." Taking to Twitter, the middleweight champion posted a screenshot of his conversation with teammate Brad Riddell along with the caption:
"#UFC276 , I’m gonna make it look easy."
Check out Israel Adesanya's tweet below:
Given the betting odds, 'The Last Stylebender' has every right to be confident. The champ will enter the bout as a considerable betting favorite, with oddsmakers giving him a 5-to-1 chance to walk away with the title around his waist.
Adesanya is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC 271. On the same card, Cannonier established himself as the next title challenger by knocking out Derek Brunson.