Throwback to the time when Jared Cannonier and Darren Till went back and forth over the nickname ‘Gorilla.’
One of the most anticipated PPV events of the 2022 calendar is just a few days away. The main event features a middleweight clash between current champion Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier. The stacked card has two title fights, and features some edge-of-the-seat fights between some of the most exciting talents in the sport and some of the most established names in the game.
Jared Cannonier dawns the nickname of ‘The Killa Gorilla’ and is a self-proclaimed cannon man. It was ineluctable that fellow middleweight fighter Darren Till would have something to say about the nickname, since he’s also called the ‘Gorilla’. Till has trolled Cannonier several times in the past over the sobriquet. He even issued a challenge to Cannonier to put the nickname on imperil when they were scheduled to face some time ago.
Reacting to the challenge and the mockery, Cannonier said, “I think I was ‘The Killa Gorilla’ before he was ‘The Gorilla,’ so he can kiss my a** about changing names and stuff like that.”
“Like I said, if he needs that for motivation, he can have that. He can do that himself, play out the scenario however he needs to. But at the end of the day, a fight’s a fight, names are just words. So, what we’re fighting for is something bigger than the name, I feel. We’re trying to get that title, we’re trying to cement whatever name I choose for you to call me. Cement that there in legacy or history.
Speaking about Till’s trolling nature, he added, “Darren likes to troll people. That’s what the kids are doing nowadays on social media: They’re trolling everybody, just doing something completely ignorant and stupid, saying whatever comes to mind, which is usually something stupid or ignorant to get a rise out of people, a reaction out of people.”
‘I’m gonna make it look easy’- Israel Adesanya confident that he will put on a masterclass against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya holds an unwavering view that he’s the best middleweight on the planet, and his record speaks for itself. He has been on a rampant run, wiping out almost the entire division. He is all set to face Jared Cannonier at UFC 276, in a quest for his fifth title defense.
His opponent Jared Cannonier has emerged as the dark horse of the division, and is confident in his abilities to dethrone the middleweight king. When asked by Helen Yee about how the fight would play out he said,
“It’s really hard to say right now,” Cannonier said in an interview with Helen Yee. “All I know without giving up too much of my game plan is that it’s going to be very competitive. More competitive than any other fights that he’s had in the octagon. I’m sure it’s going to be the same thing same for me.
“But I’m going to anticipate less, just answering any of the questions that he’s gonna present to me, answering them with ferocity, and I don’t know, any of those pretty words we can add to it, but I feel like he’s going to have to change his approach, that’s for sure. He’s not going to be style-bending in there because I plan on neutralizing his game and imposing minds like I do with any and everybody.”
Adesanya posted a tweet and shared a screenshot of his chat with fellow teammate and UFC fighter Brad Ridell. He discussed with Brad about the ‘Pain of preparation’ and that he’s ready to put on a show. He captioned the post, ‘UFC276 , I’m gonna make it look easy.’
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