Israel Adesanya Eyes Fight With ‘Fresh Meat’ Jared Cannonier
Israel Adesanya is desperate to face a new challenge after beating Robert Whittaker for the second time at UFC 271 this past weekend.
‘Stylebender’ previously knocked out Whittaker to become middleweight champion in 2019. Adesanya was not too keen on rematching ‘The Reaper’ but had to after he picked up three wins to establish himself as the clear number one contender at 185lbs.
The New Zealander took home a unanimous decision win at UFC 271 before reflecting on his performance while talking to the press backstage.
“7-out-of-10. Not bad. A good night in the office. A good chess match,” Adesanya said.
Israel Adesanya Hoped Jared Cannonier Would Beat Derek Brunson
On the UFC 271 undercard, Jared Cannonier faced off against Derek Brunson in what appeared to be a fight to decide who will get the next middleweight title shot.
‘The Killa Gorilla’ survived a few scary moments to pick up a vicious second-round knockout win to end Brunson’s hot streak and establish himself as next in line.
Adesanya revealed that he was hoping Cannonier would win so his next opponent would be “fresh meat” after having back-to-back rematches against Whittaker and Marvin Vettori. If Brunson was victorious he would’ve been facing the prospect of another rematch.
“The division is filled with killers, but I’m looking forward to fresh meat,” Adesanya said. … (I didn’t see his fight in) close detail. I just saw bits and pieces. I think he even got rocked. I saw he got taken down. Then, he elbowed Brunson. I didn’t really take stock. I’ll go back and watch the fights later and see what it is. He made a statement. I even told him after the weigh-in, not the ceremonial one, I said, ‘Please, take this guy out so I can get some fresh meat. He said, ‘Bro, I’m trying to work.’ I said, ‘Me, too.’ So I’m a man of my word.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)
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