UFC lightweight, Dan Hooker has claimed that his City Kickboxing teammate, reigning middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya will “wipe the floor” with the #2 ranked division contender, Jared Cannonier ahead of UFC 276 this weekend during International Fight Week.
Hooker, the current #13 ranked lightweight contender, featured on the main card of UFC Fight Night London back in March in a featherweight division return, suffering a first round knockout defeat against Arnold Allen.
This weekend, Hooker’s City Kickboxing training partner, Adesanya, returns to the Octagon for the second time this year – headlining UFC 276 against the aforenoted, Cannonier, searching for his fifth successful title defense at 185lbs.
Dan Hooker predicts continued success for Israel Adesanya at UFC 276
Ahead of the matchup between the duo, many have predicted another routine victory for Adesanya against Texas-born contender Cannonier – with Hooker insisting the main event clash is a “silly fight” to make.
“I think it’s a silly fight, I think it’s another silly fight,” Dan Hooker told The AllStar during a recent interview. “Yeah, I think it’s a silly fight. I think he’s (Israel Adesanya) gonna wipe the floor with him (Jared Cannonier). I think stylistically – I’m not being a d*ck, I said before the – everyone was saying, ‘Oh, Paulo Costa is really mean, he’s really duh duh duh, he hits really hard and he’s got big muscles.’ It’s the same sh*t, bro.”
“He’s just like a muscle-bound striker,” Dan Hooker said of Jared Cannonier. “Let’s be real about the situation like. Does he have takedowns? Not really. Does he have like good submissions – like a scrambling, wrestling game like, no he doesn’t. He’s got to stand. He’s a muscle-bound striker. … Show me a muscle-bound striker that has ever done good against Israel.”
Sharing UFC 271 back in February, Adesanya defeated two-time opponent and common foe, Robert Whittaker in a main event rematch, after Cannonier earned his title shot with a second round bludgeoning of another common opponent, Derek Brunson.