UFC 276: Israel Adesanya reveals what he 'copied' from Alexander Volkanovski

UFC champion Israel Adesanya has revealed that he’s ‘copied’ a technique from teammate Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 276.

This Saturday night at UFC 276 in Las Vegas, Israel Adesanya will once again defend his UFC middleweight title when he steps into the Octagon to take on Jared Cannonier. The two 185-pounders will serve as the main event of the evening at T-Mobile Arena and while Cannonier is certainly a valid contender, many believe ‘The Last Stylebender’ is the clear favourite to retain the belt and leave Sin City as the king of the division – still.

City Kickboxing has played a huge role in getting Adesanya to where he is today which isn’t exactly a secret, and as it turns out, he may take a few more things from those he trains with in the gym than we first realised.

During a recent interview with ESPN, the champ spoke candidly about what he’s learned from his close friend and training partner Alexander Volkanovski as fight night approaches.

“There’s even something that I’m working in for this fight, that he did well against Holloway. It’s the footwork, the one we were talking about, when we were shifting. I was like oh I’ve seen Volk do this and [coach] said yeah he does. 

“I watched him do it and like, I’m a copycat ninja, that’s why I’m a great dancer. I see it, I do it. I watched him [Volkanovski] do it and I was like ah, I’m just gonna copy that. Then the rest of the day I just obsessed over it.”

In the co-main event this weekend, Alexander Volkanovski will attempt to officially solidify his position as the greatest featherweight of all-time when he goes head to head with rival Max Holloway.

The two men have already met twice before and on both occasions, it was ‘The Great’ who just about managed to edge