UFC boss Dana White insists that Israel Adesanya's next fight will be "absolutely bat**** nuts" after he was criticised for being too passive in his recent title defence.
Adesanya made the fourth defence of his 185lb belt at UFC 276 earlier this month, outclassing Jared Cannonier in a one-sided decision win. His performance was criticised by fighters and fans alike, with many even being spotted leaving the arena before the final round of the title fight.
The Nigerian-born Kiwi has failed to deliver many of the highlight-reel knockouts he racked up earlier on in his UFC career, going the distance in his past four fights. Adesanya is pencilled in to fight former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira next, who has two wins over the champion. White added to the intrigue of the potential matchup by promising Adesanya's next outing will be more exciting.
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“It won’t happen in the next fight,” White said whilst being questioned on Adesanya's last performance. “When you’re sitting here in my position, you can’t give too many guarantees. I could say ‘Stylistically on paper this should be’ you know, or ‘We feel this is going to be.’ I f****ng guarantee you, I absolutely f****ng guarantee you that the next fight that Israel Adesanya fights will be absolutely bat**** nuts.”
Most of the criticism of Adesanya's last title defence fell on his shoulders, not his opponent Cannonier. White noted that it takes two to tango and perhaps Cannonier should have been more aggressive. “He won. I don’t know if it was the performance that he wanted to give or that he was selling leading into that fight. The other thing is, I don’t think his opponent was very aggressive either. So it takes two to make a great fight.”
Adesanya admitted that he wasn't able to deliver the kind of performance he planned against Cannonier, but he was still happy with his performance. 'The Last Stylebender' responded to his critics by stating it would be "stupid" to have purposely put himself in a vulnerable position against Cannonier.
"I wasn't ecstatic about the performance," he said on his YouTube channel. "I didn't really take my foot of the gas too much. I know what I could have done and I know what I was trying to do, but it just didn't happen the way I wanted it to. I wasn't coasting but I didn't want to overcommit because I knew he was going to counter me, or I'd leave myself in a vulnerable position and that's stupid."
