"Spectacular, magnificent, inspirational" - Israel Adesanya opens up on Alexander Volkanovski’s elite performance at UFC 276
Israel Adesanya has chimed in with his take on City Kickboxing teammate Alexander Volkanovski’s spectacular performance at UFC 276 on July 2.
Volkanovski defended his UFC featherweight title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Max Holloway in their trilogy fight at UFC 276, thereby going 3-0 against the former champion. Meanwhile, Adesanya defended his UFC middleweight title by beating Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision at UFC 276.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel FREESTYLEBENDER, Israel Adesanya expressed his opinion regarding Alexander Volkanovski’s elite display of skills. Praising his longtime teammate and friend, ‘The Last Stylebender’ stated:
“Spectacular, magnificent, inspirational. That’s one thing I definitely took from his performance. It was just inspirational. He’s been talking about – even to me, personally – how much he’s learnt from watching me. But I’ve been learning a lot from watching him.
So, yeah, that was another lesson from ‘Volk.’ Another, yeah, another title defense, another, you know, what do you call it? Another notch on his belt. He gave people what they want, and he delivered.”
In the aftermath of UFC 276, Alexander Volkanovski suggested that he’d like to move up in weight and capture the UFC lightweight title. Presently, it’s unclear as to whom ‘Volk’ will face next and whether the fight will be contested at featherweight or lightweight.
Watch Adesanya discuss the topic at 1:11 of the video below:
Teddy Atlas suggests Israel Adesanya could be at a mental disadvantage in potential fight with Alex Pereira
Reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is expected to defend his title against archnemesis Alex Pereira next. Pereira has beaten ‘Izzy’ twice in the sport of kickboxing, via unanimous decision in 2016 and via third-round KO in 2017.
In an edition of The Fight with Teddy Atlas podcast, widely-revered boxing trainer and fight analyst Teddy Atlas shared his views regarding a possible Adesanya-Pereira trilogy bout. He noted that, unlike the first two kickboxing fights, their trilogy matchup would be an MMA bout in the UFC.
Referencing Israel Adesanya’s past losses against Alex Pereira, Teddy Atlas opined that ‘Izzy’ might be at a mental disadvantage against him. Atlas explained that Pereira, with his long arms, could match Adesanya’s reach. Highlighting how big of a threat Pereira poses to Adesanya’s middleweight title reign, Atlas said:
“It’s a different ‘Izzy.’ He’s old. He’s more mature now. It’s in the octagon. It’s not with kickboxing. It’s not with the [kickboxing] gloves. It’s different. But I think it’s very interesting because of what Pereira brings to the equation with the edge, mentally, maybe – Maybe, but also with his long arms.”
Watch Atlas’ assessment at 1:32:32 in the video below: