Jared Cannonier compares Israel Adesanya to Jon Jones
![L-R: Jared Cannonier, Israel Adesanya, and Jon Jones [Photo credit: @ufc on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/06/373ab-16564024356967-1920.jpg?w=500)
Jared Cannonier compared his upcoming opponent, Israel Adesanya, to former longtime UFC champion and all-time great Jon Jones.
Cannonier, who is set to challenge Adesanya in the main event of UFC 276, praised 'The Last Stylebender' for utilizing tremendous control through his range. Assessing the reigning UFC middleweight champ during an interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, Cannonier said:
"His control of distance and range, I think, is exceptional. I think the only other person who has ever done that – I mean not like him, but to the extent to gain championship reign supreme is – Jon Jones."
Catch Jared Cannonier's interview below:
With a reach of 80 inches, Adesanya is one of the lengthiest fighters in his division. That means Adesanya's arms are five inches longer than the average reach of a middleweight fighter in the UFC.
Similarly, Jones enjoyed the same advantages over his opponents at light heavyweight. The former titleholder possesses a reach of 84.5 inches, which is 8.5 inches longer than the average 205-pound UFC fighter.
However, Cannonier stated that he is unfazed by Adesanya. 'The Killa Gorilla' said he has a "secret weapon" which he plans on surprising the champion with come fight night.
Jared Cannonier reveals how he plans to beat Israel Adesanya
Jared Cannonier is under no illusion that fighting Israel Adesanya will be anything but difficult. However, 'The Killa Gorilla' is also confident that he can execute a game plan to pull off the upset.
During an interview with Submission Radio, Cannonier was asked what he believes to be the key to dethroning Adesanya. In response, the challenger said:
"He's too good of a striker, he's too good of a combatant for you to come up with him with one thing and expect this is the thing that's gonna work... You have to be multi-dimensional. This is a MMA fight. It is not a kickboxing fight, it is not a wrestling match, you know?"
Watch the interview below:
Adesanya, of course, has only been defeated once in his UFC career. 'The Last Stylebender' suffered a unanimous decision loss in an unsuccessful bid to dethrone then-light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.
However, Blachowicz enjoyed a significant size advantage over Adesanya, a luxury that Cannonier just doesn't have. Nonetheless, the 38-year-old proved in his last fight that he only needed a single opening to put his opponents away.