Israel Adesanya defeats Jared Cannonier to retain title

Nigerian-born New Zealand professional Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) Israel Mobolaji Adesanya retained the middleweight title by defeating Jared Cannonier.

In the early hours of Sunday, July 3, 2022 Adesanya recorded a victory against Cannonier at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 276.

Adesanya the reigning UFC middleweight champion rose to the top of the trends for his walk out into the octagon.

The Nigerian MMA star chose the Undertaker theme song to enter the Octagon against Cannonier.

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Adesanya came into the octagon at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States of America (USA) with compatriot and reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on the sidelines.

The opening rounds were dominated by Adesanya as he walked down Cannonier on several occasions while staying center of the ring.

Adesanya had a methodical approach to control the pace and break down Cannonier.

It started with kicks to the legs and body then punches top to the head to destabilize his opponent.

Cannonier’s right eye as Adesanya showcased his blistering speed connecting with his right hand on several occasions.

After five rounds the judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45 for Adesanya.

Adesanya hailed Cannonier for taking him the distance and set sights on his next challenge.

He said, “I’ll tell you one thing, they had an excellent game plan.

“It was really hard to get my follow ups going, my second phases going because they had a good game plan.”