“You Could Just Tell….”- Alexander Volkanovski Recalls His First Impression of Teammate Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya is arguably the best striker in the whole UFC. Having a kickboxing background, Adesanya conquered the middleweight division using his striking skills. Recently, his teammate and featherweight champion, Alex Volkanovski, revealed how the two first met.

Adesanya posted a video on his YouTube channel, which belonged to the “UFC 276 Fight Camp” series. In one segment, he sat down in an interview alongside his teammate Volkanovski, who dropped the beans regarding the two’s first meeting.

According to Volkanovski, the two first met in Thailand. At that time, he knew Adesanya’s reputation for being a top kickboxer and was a big fan. The two were supposedly training at the beach.

Volkanovski said, “He was going in the water, and he was just soaking up the energy, you know. I’m starting to sort of understand all that now. Like, you know, I get that, but I never really get it. But he’s always, you know, visualize things like that and soaks up energy from that. You feel it, like, you know, stuff that you see, you know. Like this real, this is Izzy. There’s no camera around, but this was him really soaking up that energy.”

Also Read: The Lesser Known Journey of Israel Adesanya Before UFC

After this first meeting with Adesanya, Volkanovski knew he would become a superstar. He said, “I think you (Adesanya) were doing MMA at the time, but I was like he’s gonna be a superstar. You could just tell.”

Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier

Adesanya’s next challenge is none other than big-shot Jared Cannonier, who he will face in the main event of UFC 276.

This will be Adesanya’s 6th successful title defense if he manages to get past Cannonier, who is coming off a 2 fight winning streak. Cannonier will not be an easy opponent to brush past, having impressive wins over fighters such as Derek Brunson and Kelvin Gastelum.

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Adesanya is also coming off a 2 fight win streak following his loss against Jan Blachowicz in a light heavyweight title fight. A victory in this bout will add to Adesanya’s impressive achievements and further cement his name as the greatest of all time.

What did you think of this meeting? Do you think Adesanya will secure the victory against Cannonier? Let us know by dropping your opinions in the comments below.