Video: Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski spar in preparation for UFC 276
Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski have been training together at the City Kickboxing Gym ahead of their upcoming title defenses at UFC 276.
With a little over a month left before the blockbuster pay-per-view, the two champions were seen sparring with one another in a recent video shared by Jeff Sainlar Visuals on YouTube.
Despite being much smaller in size and reach compared to Adesanya, Volkanovski held his own, managing to successfully evade the Nigerian-born Kiwi's strikes. 'The Great' effectively used his explosiveness to close the distance and land a few body shots on Adesanya.
Watch the sparring video below:
In the headliner of the pay-per-view event set to take place on July 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, Israel Adesanya takes on knockout artist Jared Cannonier in a middleweight title fight.
'The Last Stylebender' will be looking to defend his belt for the fifth time.
#UFC276
Israel Adesanya will defend his belt against Jared Cannonier on July 2!!! 🥷🏆#UFC276 https://t.co/VPVW4sKfwo
In the co-main event, Volkanovski will defend the featherweight title in a trilogy fight against former champion Max Holloway.
THE TRILOGY IS ON
Alex Volkanovski vs Max Holloway 3
UFC 276 | July 2 https://t.co/7N12uhPGvH
Alexander Volkanovski aims to achieve G.O.A.T status at UFC 276
Alexander Volkanovski is aiming to achieve G.O.A.T status in the featherweight division by beating Max Holloway at UFC 276. Volkanovski already has a pair of wins over 'Blessed', who is widely considered to be one of the greatest featherweights of all time.
According to Volkanovski, another win over Holloway at UFC 276 will establish the Australian as the greatest 145-pounder of all time. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, he said:
"I beat him three times in his prime... How do I not take that G.O.A.T. status? This is what’s good about this fight. You and everyone are going to say that I’m the G.O.A.T., I’m the pound-for-pound No. 1 — look at what position this one will put me in, because look at what position he’s in and he’s gone on a tear as well with wins himself, so this certainly makes this fight better and only puts me in a better position if I get another win over him right now."
Watch Volkanovski's appearance on The MMA Hour below:
Volkanovski is currently undefeated in the UFC and is on an incredible 21-fight winning streak. In his most recent fight, the Australian dominantly put away 'The Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung via TKO in the fourth round of their main event clash at UFC 273.