Israel Adesanya is class above Jared Cannonier, Alexander Volkanovski has "more fire" than Max Holloway: Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov recently gave his predictions for the upcoming middleweight and featherweight title fights scheduled for UFC 276. According to 'The Eagle', both City Kickboxing products Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski will successfully defend their titles next weekend.
Nurmagomedov admitted that Adesanya's title fight against Jared Cannonier might be a close affair. However, 'The Eagle' believes that the champion's precision and speed puts him a step ahead of 'Tha Killa Gorilla'. The former lightweight champion recently said in a video released by the UFC on Twitter:
"I must say it's gonna be very close fight in middleweight division. Adesanya vs. Cannonier. But I think like Adesanya little bit step away, one foot away from Cannonier in class. If we're talking about class."
Nurmagomedov was also left impressed by Volkanovski's last two title defenses. While he likes Max Holloway as a fighter, Nurmagomedov believes the featherweight champion has "more fire" than 'Blessed'.
"About Holloway-Volkanovski, I must say I'm really impressed with Volkanovski about his last couple of performance. I like Max Holloway, I like him. This is nothing personal but I think Volkanovski gonna defend his title. It's question, how?! Who knows. But I see he more stay busy, fight all the time, experience... Maybe experience like same. Like little bit more fire. I think he [Volkanovksi] have little bit more fire than Max Holloway. "
Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov's predictions for the upcoming UFC 276 title fights below:
Find out who @TeamKhabib is taking at #UFC276 🦅
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Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager claims 'The Eagle' would finish Israel Adesanya within three rounds
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport in October 2020 with an unblemished 29-0 record. 'The Eagle', however, continues to be affiliated with MMA, taking up new gigs as a coach and promoter.
The former lightweight champion has always been known to be bigger than his compatriots and has considerably bulked up since retiring from active competition. Nurmagomedov's manager and close friend Ali Abdelaziz believes 'The Eagle' would defeat Israel Adesanya within three rounds if he were to make a comeback at 185 lbs.
The Dominance MMA CEO recently told Sherdog:
“Khabib now weighs 200 pounds. If Khabib comes tomorrow and cuts to 185, he would stop Israel Adesanya in three rounds. I see it. He beats heavyweights, light heavyweights, welterweights, lightweights – he’s unstoppable now."
Watch Abdelaziz's interview with Sherdog below: