Tag: Jared Cannonier

EXCLUSIVE | Nassourdine Imavov ‘Unimpressed’ By Adesanya-Whittaker 2, Picks Jared Cannonier To Win Title

Nassourdine ImavovStreaking MMA Factory standout, Nassourdine Imavov has claimed that he was somewhat “unimpressed” viewing a cautious middleweight title rematch of Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker at UFC 271. And believes Jared Cannonier has the skillset to become a future titleholder.  Nassourdine Imavov, who is currently riding a two-fight winning run, most recently grounded out the […]

Nassourdine Imavov

Streaking MMA Factory standout, Nassourdine Imavov has claimed that he was somewhat “unimpressed” viewing a cautious middleweight title rematch of Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker at UFC 271. And believes Jared Cannonier has the skillset to become a future titleholder. 

Nassourdine Imavov, who is currently riding a two-fight winning run, most recently grounded out the highly-touted, Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC 268 back in November, stopping the Glendale Fight Club trainee with a series of third round ground strikes from mounted crucifix.

In the time since, Imavov has booked a middleweight outing against the #10 ranked, Kelvin Gastelum for UFC 273 on April 9. – attempting to improve on his #12 rank in the division. 

The Dagestan native turned in an impressive TKO win over Ian Heinisch back in July of last year before his stoppage success against Shahbazyan, and given his swift climb to the top-15 in the official middleweight rankings, has been touted to eventually contend for undisputed division gold in the future.

Nassourdine Imavov boasts a 3-1 promotional record heading into his UFC 273 clash with Kelvin Gastelum

Tuning in to UFC 271 last weekend last week, Imavov revealed that he was disappointed with the display from both Adesanya and Whittaker, detailing how he wished the two had turned in a less cautious approach to the title rematch.

“I thought that it was – I was a little bit disappointed,” Nassourdine Imavov told LowKick MMA reporter, Jordan Ellis, through his interpreter and head coach, Fernand Lopez. “I wasn’t that impressed. That was a good fight, don’t get me wrong, but I thought that was a little bit cautious from them (Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker). And I thought Adesanya went to some part that would cause him the victory in the next fight.”

“I think, because he (Israel Adesanya) run through all the division already, he feels like you don’t have any challenge anymore,” Nassourdine Imavov said. “I don’t know but, I was a little bit frustrated to do now have more than one assault (sic).”

On the same card as Adesanya’s title rematch win over Whittaker, middleweight contender, Jared Cannonier appeared to punch his ticket to a title shot, courtesy of a series of elbows to ground out Derek Brunson.

And with the promotion likely to field Adesanya a bout against the Texan next, Imavov believes Cannonier could present the contender to dethrone the Nigerian-Kiwi, should Adesanya become too comfortable in his reign over the division.

“I think that (Jared) Cannonier can be a future champion,” Nassourdine Imavov said. “I think his style is not easy to deal with. And also, like I was saying, if Adesanya becomes comfortable and does not find the motivation to work his ass off on the wrestling department, Cannonier can just work on him, and go there, and, you know, shock the world.” 

Israel Adesanya Pleaded With Jared Cannonier To Beat Derek Brunson

UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has revealed the encouragement he gave to top contender Jared Cannonier ahead of UFC 271. Two of this weekend’s biggest fights on pay-per-view saw crucial middleweight clashes go down. While the reigning king ran it back with former rival Robert Whittaker in the main event, top-five veterans Cannonier and Derek…

Continue Reading Israel Adesanya Pleaded With Jared Cannonier To Beat Derek Brunson at MMA News.

UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has revealed the encouragement he gave to top contender Jared Cannonier ahead of UFC 271.

Two of this weekend’s biggest fights on pay-per-view saw crucial middleweight clashes go down. While the reigning king ran it back with former rival Robert Whittaker in the main event, top-five veterans Cannonier and Derek Brunson collided earlier in the night, with a title shot seemingly on the line.

Towards the end of the opening round, it appeared the undefeated run of “Blonde” Brunson was set to continue. But after the round-ending horn cut short a rear-naked choke attempt, the tide turned.

“The Killa Gorilla” came out in the second and made the most of his stand-up advantage. After one early shot appeared to affect Brunson’s movement and posture, Cannonier went in for the kill.

With a vicious elbow and clean backhand, the #3-ranked 185lber rocked his counterpart and sent him to the ground. From there, some sickening elbows signaled the end.

Adesanya Gets His Fresh Meat

While predictions were largely split heading into the contest, with many backing Brunson’s previous form and five-fight win streak, one man was firmly supporting Cannonier on fight night—that man being the champ.

Having already faced and defeated Brunson on his way to the title in 2018, as well as dispatching most other contenders in the weight class, “The Last Stylebender” favored the idea of facing a fresh challenge next.

During his appearance at the UFC 271 post-fight press conference, which came after he successfully defended the middleweight gold for the fourth time, Adesanya revealed the encouragement he gave Cannonier during fight week.

“I just saw bits and pieces. I think he even got rocked. I saw he got taken down, and then he elbowed Brunson. And so I didn’t really take stock. I’ll go back and watch the fight later on and see what it is,” said Adesanya. “But he made a statement. And I even told him after the weigh-ins, I said, ‘Look, please take this guy out so I can get some fresh meat.’ And he said, ‘Bro, I’m trying to work.’ I said, ‘Me, too.’ So I’m a man of my word.”

With apparent post-fight confirmation from all parties, including UFC President Dana White, it seems Adesanya’s next challenger is locked in. Targeting a June return, “The Last Stylebender” looks set to have the chance to add another name to his résumé in the form of Cannonier.

Would you like to see Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier next?

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Israel Adesanya Eyes Fight With ‘Fresh Meat’ Jared Cannonier

Israel AdesanyaIsrael Adesanya is desperate to face a new challenge after beating Robert Whittaker for the second time at UFC 271 this past weekend. ‘Stylebender’ previously knocked out Whittaker to become middleweight champion in 2019. Adesanya was not too keen on rematching ‘The Reaper’ but had to after he picked up three wins to establish himself […]

Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya is desperate to face a new challenge after beating Robert Whittaker for the second time at UFC 271 this past weekend.

‘Stylebender’ previously knocked out Whittaker to become middleweight champion in 2019. Adesanya was not too keen on rematching ‘The Reaper’ but had to after he picked up three wins to establish himself as the clear number one contender at 185lbs.

The New Zealander took home a unanimous decision win at UFC 271 before reflecting on his performance while talking to the press backstage.

“7-out-of-10. Not bad. A good night in the office. A good chess match,” Adesanya said.

Israel Adesanya Hoped Jared Cannonier Would Beat Derek Brunson

On the UFC 271 undercard, Jared Cannonier faced off against Derek Brunson in what appeared to be a fight to decide who will get the next middleweight title shot.

‘The Killa Gorilla’ survived a few scary moments to pick up a vicious second-round knockout win to end Brunson’s hot streak and establish himself as next in line.

Adesanya revealed that he was hoping Cannonier would win so his next opponent would be “fresh meat” after having back-to-back rematches against Whittaker and Marvin Vettori. If Brunson was victorious he would’ve been facing the prospect of another rematch.

“The division is filled with killers, but I’m looking forward to fresh meat,” Adesanya said. … (I didn’t see his fight in) close detail. I just saw bits and pieces. I think he even got rocked. I saw he got taken down. Then, he elbowed Brunson. I didn’t really take stock. I’ll go back and watch the fights later and see what it is. He made a statement. I even told him after the weigh-in, not the ceremonial one, I said, ‘Please, take this guy out so I can get some fresh meat. He said, ‘Bro, I’m trying to work.’ I said, ‘Me, too.’ So I’m a man of my word.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)

Do you want to see Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier next?

Who Should Israel Adesanya Face After Robert Whittaker Win at UFC 271?

Israel Adesanya remains the UFC middleweight champion—but what’s next? The Nigerian-born New Zealander (22-1) returned to action in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night in Houston, where he took on Australia’s Robert Whittaker (23-6)…

Israel Adesanya remains the UFC middleweight champion—but what’s next? The Nigerian-born New Zealander (22-1) returned to action in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night in Houston, where he took on Australia’s Robert Whittaker (23-6)…

Derek Brunson Speaks Out Following UFC 271 Loss To Jared Cannonier

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson addressed his fans following a disappointing loss to Jared Cannonier. Brunson fell to Cannonier at UFC 271 via second-round knockout after a dominant opening round. He utilized his wrestling and nearly sunk in a rear-naked choke submission as the first round came to a close. However, Cannonier was able to…

Continue Reading Derek Brunson Speaks Out Following UFC 271 Loss To Jared Cannonier at MMA News.

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson addressed his fans following a disappointing loss to Jared Cannonier.

Brunson fell to Cannonier at UFC 271 via second-round knockout after a dominant opening round. He utilized his wrestling and nearly sunk in a rear-naked choke submission as the first round came to a close.

However, Cannonier was able to find his footing in the second round and overwhelm Brunson with strikes. He would eventually land a lead elbow that dropped Brunson and followed it up with heavy ground-and-pound shots.

The fight was built up as a No. 1 middleweight contender fight between two of the top-4 middleweights in the UFC. Cannonier will more than likely get the next shot at Israel Adesanya later this year.

Shortly after the loss, Brunson took to social media to address his fans and update them on how he’s doing physically and mentally.

“Made a title push. Number 3 vs. 4 in the world,” Brunson said. “I came up short. Life lessons. I’m all good, sad but life will give you [these] moments.”

Entering UFC 271, Brunson was arguably the hottest middleweight in the UFC with five-straight wins. He hadn’t lost since falling to Adesanya at UFC 230 as the champion made his rise towards the title conversation.

Brunson has one more fight left on his deal and plans on competing once more in the Octagon before he calls it quits. Brunson made his UFC debut at UFC 155 following an up-and-down tenure in Strikeforce. Leading up to UFC 271, he alluded to retirement following the conclusion of his contract.

Who do you want to see Derek Brunson fight for his final UFC appearance?

Continue Reading Derek Brunson Speaks Out Following UFC 271 Loss To Jared Cannonier at MMA News.