5 biggest takeaways from UFC 276: Criticizing Izzy, Volkanovski’s P4P placement, and did Munhoz quit?

I will never, ever blame a fighter for prioritizing victory over all else, especially at the UFC championship level when there’s so much on the line, and the difference between being a champion and a contender is so vast when it comes to pay and other perks of the role.

With that said, Israel Adesanya set himself up for fan backlash after a relatively uneventful fight with Jared Cannonier, which he won by lopsided unanimous decision. He said over and over leading up to and during fight week that he was going to do something “spectacular” and would throw caution to the wind in order to give the pay-per-view audience and fans who paid hefty ticket prices to attend during International Fight Week something they would remember.

That didn’t end up being the case, and Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) instead ended up employing the counter-striking style he utilizes so well to shut down Cannonier (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and prevent any dramatic moments from happening. Again, I’m not going to crap on the guy for taking that approach, but he promised something different, even if it was an “off night.”

I know everything Adesanya said pre-fight is ultimately just promotional hype, but it seems unwise that he would promise that then turn around and call the fans “dumb f*cks” for being bothered when it didn’t materialize. It already happened once before against Yoel Romero in the same arena a little more than two years ago, and to a lesser degree in his rematch with Marvin Vettori in June 2021.

It must be noted that this isn’t a one-way street, either. Adesanya’s opponents play a major role in this, too, because they either fail to implement a good enough game plan, or are too risk-averse because they can’t figure out how to deal with Adesanya’s skill set.

As long as Adesanya holds that belt, he holds power. But a few more of these types of fights and he might have a problem on his hands. Fortunately for him, he has a next test in former kickboxing opponent Alex Pereira who should provide him with a highlight one way or another after his knockout of Sean Strickland at the same event.

Gallery Israel Adesanya def. Jared Cannonier at UFC 276: Best photos