Words: Chris Reive
Editor: Winston Aldworth
Design: Paul Slater

Israel Adesanya is driven by one word: LEGACY.

When he checks out of the game, he wants to look back on it and be able to say he achieved everything possible in his career, to be a fighter who is remembered and revered long past his best-before date.

It has never specifically been about the material aspect of holding a world-title belt – even in promotional material for his bout against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 in Las Vegas on Sunday, Adesanya says he couldn’t care less about the belt. Though a long-standing legacy and title belts tend to go hand in hand with each other.

With a 21-1 record and being unbeaten at his natural weight class of middleweight (his sole loss came when he moved up a division), Adesanya has found himself in the conversation of who is the greatest middleweight to have ever fought in the UFC.

He already holds the second-most title defences in UFC middleweight history, but to take away any doubt of his standing in the division's story, Adesanya is chasing the records of Brazilian legend Anderson Silva.

Silva sat on the throne at the head of the middleweight division between 2006 and 2013 – with a record:

Adesanya has won 11 in a row at middleweight since making his UFC debut in 2018, and has successfully defended his undisputed title four times (and also has a win in a title unification belt in which he was interim champion at the time. One might argue that counts as a title defence, though official UFC records don’t hold that view).

But it’s not just the numbers Adesanya wants to look back on fondly, but the names he competed against; the best athletes the world had to offer.

After a couple of rematches back-to-back, the bout with Cannonier opens another chapter in the story Adesanya is writing, and one that has plenty of potential for twists.

At 38, it’s strange to say Cannonier is just reaching his prime in the sport, but that is the case as it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that he found his home in the middleweight division.

Adesanya is the more skilled of the two fighters, but Cannonier is among the hardest hitters in the division and has the durability and fight IQ to be able to hang in a fight until his opportunity opens up. His most recent performance is a prime example of this. Against Derek Brunson, Cannonier absorbed everything Brunson had to offer through the first round and early in the second. But an opening showed itself, and Cannonier earned a stoppage win.

The bout has the added grandeur of headlining the UFC’s International Fight Week festivities – a week-long celebration of the sport which culminates in the biggest pay-per-view offering the company can put together.

A win over Cannonier and Adesanya moves one step closer to the rarefied air he so desires to breathe.

I'm just going to preface this by saying every bout in the career of a mixed martial artist is important. It’s a sport of fine margins and big consequences when you make a mistake.

But of course, as you progress, so does the weight of each fight and it doesn’t get any bigger than a world title fight.

Now, something of a flow chart for the mind.

Do you like Israel Adesanya?

Yes: After just four years in the UFC, Adesanya has claimed the undisputed UFC middleweight championship and defended it four times. A win over Cannonier and Adesanya hits the halfway mark in trying to match Anderson Silva’s 10 successful defences of the belt. The Nigerian-born Kiwi has often alluded to his quest for greatness, and you are in a position to tell your children, and your children’s children that you were able to witness it. Kind of like the current Golden State Warriors dynasty in the NBA (if the 'prison violence' view of the sport ever ceases).

No: Cannonier is probably the hardest hitter in the division and if Adesanya makes a mistake he could present Cannonier with an opening to shut his lights off in an instant.

Such is the sport at a high level: people will tune in to see a fighter succeed, and other people will tune in hoping to see the fighter fail. Sure, there’s more in the pros column than the negatives, but that’s probably a pretty tantilising offering if you fall into the latter.

It’s an interesting match-up. Adesanya, the elusive striking specialist who personifies ‘hit and don’t get hit’, unbeaten in 11 UFC fights at middleweight; Cannonier, the former heavyweight who still hits like a truck and is 5-1 with four wins by stoppage since making the move to the 84kg division.

A main event, this fight is scheduled for a maximum of five rounds and fans of either fighter are most likely going to be tight balls of stress for the duration – this comes with the territory of being a fan of the sport. It can take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride, but that’s all part of the fun.

This is also an important fight for Adesanya as Cannonier is an opponent he is yet to face in the octagon. He has gotten to the point where there wasn’t any change in the top fighters in the division so he was having to take rematches – which isn’t the most exciting prospect for fighter or fans. Cannonier is one of the two fighters ranked inside the top six in the division that Adesanya is yet to beat – the other being Sean Strickland, who is taking on Alex Periera (an old kickboxing foe of Adesanya’s) on the same card and the winner of that will probably be Adesanya’s next opponent.

The bout also headlines UFC 276 which isn’t your average UFC card. It’s the pay-per-view which caps off the promotion’s International Fight Week festivities – a week in which the UFC organises several events for fans and athletes to celebrate the sport, with a massive fight card to finish it all off. Headlining this particular card shows the stature of this match-up, and just how big a star Adesanya is for the promotion.

The crowd will be roaring at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, and fireworks are expected inside the octagon when the two meet.

Fellow Kiwi Brad Riddell – a top-15 ranked lightweight – is also competing on the card against surging finisher Jalin Turner. That bout is also expected to be a fan-friendly, high-action affair.

Even in the world of mixed martial arts, Jared Cannonier’s story is a unique one.

It’s a tale of reinvention. Cannonier is one of a rare few who boast wins by knockout in three weight classes in the UFC – beginning his journey as a heavyweight, before working down to light heavyweight and finally middleweight.

The Alaskan was a late starter in mixed martial arts, making his professional debut in his late 20s in 2011. After amassing a 7-0 record, he got his shot in the UFC – where he was stopped in the first-round of his promotional debut.

Cannonier admits he is not a natural heavyweight, but at that time, his lifestyle meant if he wanted to fight, that was the weight class for him. It was his second UFC bout – a KO win – that he says put things into perspective for him. His was one of four heavyweight bouts on that card and, in an interview with the UFC in 2021, he said seeing the size and physiques of some of the other fighters in the weight class was eye opening.

That was his last fight at heavyweight. Instead, he put work into changing his body and made his debut at light heavyweight later that year.

After five bouts in the division in which he fought to a 2-3 record, he dropped down again. While now fighting at 23kg lighter than when he made his UFC debut, the 38-year-old still hits like a much bigger man. In making his new home at middleweight, he rattled off three-straight TKO wins to announce himself in the division.

Now six fights into his tenure at middleweight, Cannonier has a 5-1 record in the division with his only slip up coming in a unanimous decision loss to former champion Robert Whittaker. That saw his road to the title delayed slightly, but he gets his chance at Israel Adesanya’s throne this weekend at UFC 276 after rebounding with two strong wins.