"I'm a copycat ninja" - Israel Adesanya reveals which move he mastered from copying Alexander Volkanovsi

Israel Adesanya (left), Alexander Volkanovski (right) [Image courtesy of @alexvolkanovski on Instagram]

Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has admitted to copying a few moves from fellow ANZ fighter and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

The pair sat down with ESPN MMA ahead of both of their title defenses at UFC 276. Adesanya is looking to make it five consecutive title defenses when he faces Jared Cannonier.

Volkanovski, meanwhile, will step into the octagon for a third time with Max Holloway. The trilogy fight is set to be the culmination between the pair, with 'The Great' leading 2-0 in the head-to-head.

Speaking on ESPN MMA's YouTube channel, 'The Last Stylebender' revealed a move he copied and 'mastered' from Volkanovski.

"The footwork, the one we [Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski] were talking about. The one with the shifting...After we finished training, I watched him [Volkanovski] do it. I'm a copycat ninja that's why I'm a great dancer."

He added:

"I see it, I do it. I watch him do it, so I just copy that. The rest of the day I just obessed over it. The next day me and Eugene [Bachman] were hitting pads, I was like 'I've mastered it, 99.7%'"

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Israel Adesanya added that he hopes he'll be able to show Alexander Volkanovski the footwork he's "copied" in the octagon against Jared Cannonier.

Watch the two champions UFC 276 breakdown here:

Israel Adesanya ready to fight Alex Pereira

UFC 276 is headlined by Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier for the middleweight title. Adesanya is looking to defend his belt for the fifth time. He may also learn of his next opponent before he makes the walk to the octagon to face the American.

Fighting earlier in the night will be the No. 4 ranked Sean Strickland against the unranked Alex Pereira. The bout is considered by many to be an unofficial No. 1 contender clash. The victor is expected to face the winner of the main-event later this year.

'Izzy' and Pereira have a history. The New Zealander is yet to see defeat in the octagon at 185lbs. However, 'Po Atan' has two victories over 32-year-old before they signed for the UFC.

Both Adesanya and Pereira were kickboxers with careers that saw them meet on two occasions. The Brazilian got the better of Adesanya twice, winning via a decision and KO, the only KO loss of his kickboxing career.

⚡️ Throwback Thursday..... 2017!

🇧🇷 Alex Pereira KO’s Adesanya 🤯:
Glory of Heroes: Shenzhen 🇨🇳 https://t.co/wtnDTRmlfT

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the middleweight champion admitted he doesn't care if Pereira is being pushed for a title shot. He revealed that he's been ready to rematch the Brazilian for a while.

"They're pushing him so he can get that fight with me, and I'm like, cool. I welcome it. I look forward to this... I don't think you understand how many times I've visualized this, and I know exactly what I'm gonna do as well. Even if the referee tries to take me off, I'm gonna tell him let me have my moment. This is my moment, and they can't take me off him. I'm gonna stand there and just own it."

Catch Israel Adesanya's latest YouTube video here: