Video: Israel Adesanya releases fire UFC 276 promo, hyping up opponent Jared Cannonier equally

Israel Adesanya (left and top right), Jared Cannonier (bottom right) [Right images via FREESTYLEBENDER on YouTube]

Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight championship against Jared Canonnier in the UFC 276 headliner. ‘The Last Stylebender’ posted a promo for his upcoming fight that hyped both the champion and the challenger equally.

The video shows the UFC 276 headliner as a dogfight for domination. It refers to Izzy's statement of being the new dog in the yard, which he said during his post-fight octagon interview after a successful UFC debut.

#OnThisDay in 2018: @Stylebender arrived in the UFC 😤

📺📱 Stream every @Stylebender fight on @UFCFightPass before he returns at #UFC259 on March 7th! https://t.co/Ify9TIZl8o

The UFC 276 promo posted by Adesanya begins with a clip of two dogs barking at each other to represent both challengers and then goes back to UFC 230, which took place at Madison Square Garden. Both Adesanya and Cannonier were featured on the main card. The Kiwi fighter opened it up with his fight against Derek Brunson, and the American fought two bouts later against David Branch.

Israel Adesanya walked into the octagon on all fours and gestured as if urinating on the cage door to mark his territory. The video then shows ‘The Killa Gorilla’ making his entrance, where he responds to Adesanya’s antics by also imitating a dog marking his territory in the same place as him. It signalized that the octagon was now his domain, as told by Cannonier himself.

This 2018 episode was their first interaction, and both fighters have had immense journeys in their respective careers since then. Adesanya is the reigning champion, and Cannonier has cemented his place as the rightful title challenger after demolishing Derek Brunson at UFC 271.

Watch the UFC 276 main event promo in the video below:

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Israel Adesanya on how threatening Jared Cannonier is

During an interview with Combat TV, Adesanya discussed various topics, including his upcoming fight against Jared Cannonier.

The reigning UFC middleweight champion called Jared Cannonier "the dark horse of the division" but claimed the American is not as big a threat as people think he is:

"Jared, to be honest, not as threatening, he’s the dark horse of the division… So he’s a threat. But he’s not as threatening as people think. Not as threatening as people think. I’ll give it on my scorecards, four or five. Out of respect, I’ll give him a five [on a hypothetical threat meter out of ten]."

Watch Israel Adesanya evaluate Jared Cannonier at 9:08 of the video below: