UFC 276: Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski agree ‘the vibe is unmatched’ ahead of title defences
- Middleweight and featherweight champions will both defend belts on Saturday in Las Vegas, taking on Jared Cannonier and Max Holloway
- The two training partners are sharing a house in the city, and both are brimming with confidence after fruitful camps
Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski are full of confidence ahead of their title defences at UFC 276 this Saturday night in Las Vegas.
New Zealand’s Adesanya, 32, holds the promotion’s middleweight title, while the 33-year-old Australian Volkanovski is the featherweight champion. The pair have trained together extensively at City Kickboxing in Auckland over the years, but Saturday will mark the first time they have co-headlined a UFC card together.
The two champions, both ranked among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC, have made the most of the opportunity by sharing a house not far from the host T-Mobile Arena. Both say the energy on the property is good – particularly after their teammate Carlos Ulberg won by knockout last weekend.
“At the house, the vibe is unmatched,” Adesanya, who was just honoured for passing 50 United States Anti-Doping Agency drug tests, told reporters at Wednesday’s pre-fight media session. “I feel like it’s perfect. Synergy, destiny, whatever you want to call it, it’s happening the way it’s supposed to happen.”
“The couple of weeks of camp I spent at City Kickboxing were incredible,” Volkanovski told reporters around an hour earlier. “You feel that energy there. I knew once we came back here [to Las Vegas] we’d be feeling that energy all fight week and fight night.
“[Ulberg] just added to it. Obviously we want to cling to it.”
Adesanya (22-1) is set to defend his title against American knockout artist Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 main event. The champion has long viewed his rival as a dangerous challenge, but after a fruitful training camp alongside Volkanovski, seems certain that he will be victorious.