Watch: Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker engage in intense ground-and-pound ahead of UFC 276

Dan Hooker and Israel Adesanya sparring (R) [Image via Freestylebender on YouTube]

City Kickboxing teammates Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker take sparring for their fights quite seirously.

'The Last Stylebender' posted a short clip of his training session on his YouTube channel. The video begins with 'The Hangman' chasing Israel Adesanya around as he takes the offensive.

For a second there, the power with which Dan Hooker was landing would surely make one believe that it was an actual fight. Hooker lit Adesanya up with crisp, painful ground-and-pound shots, pressuring the champion to prepare him for UFC 276.

Watch the clip below:

At the end of the session, Adesanya exchanged a few words with Dan Hooker after which he took to the offensive.

Even as Hooker laid on his back, taking shots from the Nigerian native and attempting to defend, he kept talking to the middleweight champion.

"You're a b**ch!", shouted Hooker as Adesanya let his hands fly and connect during the gound and pound.

The video clearly portrays how the best of City Kickboxing train in order to be competition-ready.

🚨BREAKING🚨

Dan Hooker vs Clay Guida being targeted for UFC fight night on October 1st https://t.co/pLlrsOmHDG

Israel Adesanya recollects "if I die" moment from UFC 236

Israel Adesanya's Fight of the Year contest against Kelvin Gastelum was an extremely special one. Although it was for the interim title, everything about the fight screamed uniqueness and demanded recognition.

However, there is one aspect of the fight that we are not aware of. Describing a moment in the fifth round, Israel Adesanya said in an interview with BT Sport:

"If I'm prepared to die I'm prepared to kill. I really meant that in that moment. I signed my life away. If this is how I die, what a glorious death. In front of the whole world in a crazy battle. I had some negative self-talk throughout that fight that I over came.. 'It's okay you can kinda just relax now', I remember when that voice was coming, I remember this verbatem I said to myself literally in my head, 'shut up I'm busy'."

"One of the greatest moments of my life."

🏆 @Stylebender reflects on his iconic fifth round moment. #UFC259 https://t.co/VTc1CaOArS

It is quite exciting to see one of the most dominant champions in the UFC practicing so hard for his fight. It appears that the champion is looking to foolproof his game in the arena of mixed martial arts. While his kickboxing genius is lauded world-over, his lack of experience in grappling and wrestling is what paves the way for some holes in his game. Nevertheless, Adesanya is evidently working hard at ensuring that these factors never get in the way of him and his belt.