UFC 276: Pros react to lackluster Israel Adesanya defense against Jared Cannonier

See the thoughts from fellow UFC fighters on Israel Adesanya retaining his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276

It was a disappointing main event, but a successful title defense for Israel Adesanya nonetheless, as he retained the UFC middleweight championship against Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC 276.

The first round was a quiet one, but a clear one for Adesanya, working his jab and puzzling Cannonier. Cannonier was still unable to get his power going in the second round, as Adesanya continued to come forward and worked his punches and kicks around the body.

Adesanya continued his successful striking in the third round, but Cannonier attempted to give him a grappling battle, looking to get a takedown attempt and a clinch in the third round — neither of which were completely successful but troubled the champion somewhat

Cannonier’s grappling efforts were for naught in the fourth, and he didn’t seem to have anything for the champion.

Cannonier’s lack of offense continued into the final round. Though he did land a notable couple of shots in the fight’s final minute, there seemed to be nothing that would give Cannonier a significant advantage against the champion in any round.

All three judges awarded the fight to Adesanya, with two 49-46 scores and a 50-45.

UFC 276: Pros react to Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier

This marked Adesanya’s fifth time entering the Octagon as defending UFC middleweight champion. Adesanya claimed interim middleweight gold against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 before unifying with Robert Whittaker at UFC 243.

Since then, Adesanya has retained the title against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori and Whittaker. Adesanya’s only MMA loss came when he went up to light heavyweight and challenged then-UFC champion Jan Blachowicz.

Cannonier entered this fight with wins in five of his last six. This includes his most recent two fights, a decision win over Gastelum and a knockout of Derek Brunson.

UFC 276: Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier takes place on Saturday, July 2, 2022, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Follow along with FanSided MMA, who is on-site, for all your news and highlights.