Bracing Against Jared Cannonier, Israel Adesanya Undergoes Brutal Sparring With Dan "The Hangman" Hooker

Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya (Instagram @stylebender)

JAKARTA - Israel "The Last Stylebender" Adesanya is preparing to defend his middleweight title on July 2 at UFC 276 against Jared Cannonier by sparring with Dan "The Hangman" Hooker.

In a recent video uploaded to FREESTYLEBENDER, Adesanya's official YouTube channel, Hooker is seen assisting Adesanya with a ground-and-pound defense at City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand.

The UFC lightweight fighter didn't hold back and didn't hit any punches as he sent Adesanya to the ground, but Stylebender did the same when they switched roles.

Adesanya can be seen brutalizing Hooker with a ground attack as the two sparring partners attack each other.

Hooker believes Adesanya will easily beat Cannonier at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday to defend his middleweight title.

"I think it's a silly fight, I think it's another ridiculous fight," Hooker said. "Yeah, I thought it was a ridiculous fight. I thought he [Adesanya] would sweep the floor with him [Cannonier]."

Hooker, meanwhile, has not fought since his TKO loss to Arnold Allen at UFC Fight Night 204 in March.

The UFC veteran has dropped to No. 13 in light rankings and holds a 1-4 record in his last five contests.