UFC 276 had some great matchups. However, many fans were unhappy with how Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier’s fight went. As it was the main event, people expected more. Comedian Andrew Schulz, who recently appeared on Ariel Helwani’s show, spoke about the criticism the middleweight champion received.
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Schulz said, “Everybody’s giving a hard time about the fight. … what happens is like as you are champion and as you are dominant, you are fighting the riskiest fighters. So the fights are not going to be as entertaining when you are getting a tomato can and knock out the first round.”
“Now, he can take extreme risk, which I think is what everybody wants to see. I want to see my friend dominate people. And I love the technician that he is. I’m learning to like appreciate the minutiae of MMA a little bit more. So like, I like seeing him set up his strikes and that kind of stuff.”
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: Israel Adesanya of New Zealand is introduced prior to his middleweight bout against Anderson Silva of Brazil during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I can see how a guy like Chris Pratt, who’s a sweet guy, is like ‘I just want to see carnage, dude’. ‘Like I want to see a bar-fight’. And that’s probably why most people can’t enjoy the sport without really having any knowledge of it.”
Adesanya, who has defended his title from the best fighters in the UFC, might risk his belt with any faulty calculations within the Octagon. Hence, while his UFC 276 fight might have not been what people envisioned, he successfully kept his belt.
What does Israel Adesanya think about his UFC 276 performance?
As reported by ‘MMA Fighting‘, The Last Stylebender was satisfied with his performance. But he had also himself admitted he had an “off-night”.
READ MORE- 5 Things We Didn’t Know About Israel Adesanya
After re-watching the fight, Adesanya was of the opinion that it was only when his opponent held him against the Octagon, he had a brief struggle. However, Adesanya broke away every time.
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya fight in the Middleweight title bout during UFC 243 at Marvel Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
The Nigerian-born fighter has received criticism for lackluster performances before as well. The fighter feels he generally gets criticism because he is at the top. Actor Chris Pratt had also criticized Adesanya.
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Adesanya’s unwillingness to take risks during his fights seems to be one of the biggest criticisms. However, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre too have received such criticism in the past. Thus, Adesanya is not too worried.
