Ahead of his clash with Jared Cannonier, Israel Adesanya has said he will emerge victorious in the Ultimate Fighting Challenge 276 bout.
The match will take place on the night of July 3 in Las Vegas, with Adesanya hoping to defend his title for the fifth time.
“Jared is a fighter; I call him the dark horse of the division. He was in the heavyweight division, and then moved down to the light heavyweight division, and now he’s in the middleweight division – so he has a lot of power in his hands,” Adesanya said on UFC 276 Countdown.
“Thanks to his skills, he dealt with many people, but many people are not me. Styles make fights, and I’m the Elementalist, so our duel won’t go all the way. He will be choked or knocked out.”
Speaking on the bout, UFC fighter, Khabib Nurmagomedov said Adesanya will successfully defend his title because he’s a bit above Jared in class.
He said, “I must say it’s gonna be a very close fight in the middleweight division. Adesanya vs. Cannonier. But I think like Adesanya is a little bit step away, one foot away from Cannonier in class. If we’re talking about class.”