The Rise And Rise of Adesanya
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Born in Nigeria, the current UFC middleweight king was lucky enough to be born to an above average family in Lagos, Nigeria.
At age 11, his family decided to move to New Zealand to help Adesanya’s educational prospects in the west, but school wasn’t easy for him.
Adesanya says he was bullied in school and often felt like the odd one out. He wasn’t into sport at all during high school and his primary interest was Japanese anime.
‘Broken Native’ was the name of the dance crew he belong when he was young. However, after finding a striking resemblance with the term, he had it tattooed on his chest.
Despite an apparent skinny fellow, Adesanya is one of the hardest hitters – just ask Kelvin Gastelum
“Over the years I realised that I have always been like the odd one out. The bat among the dogs. The pebble among the stones. As a native, I am broken.”
A lot of Adesanya’s mannerisms and character are sourced from anime and comics. His self-appointed nickname The last Stylebender derives from Nickelodeon’s TV show, The Last Airbender. The main character, Aang, has to master all four elements – earth, wind, fire, and air – in order to become the most powerful human on earth, defeat the bad guy, and bring peace to the world.
Adesanya likens himself to Aang in that he has to master all the elements of martial arts in order to become the greatest ever.
It’s been working for him so far.
Anderson Silva was a certified legend when Adesanya fought him and was confident enough to show off his unique character in the octagon against him (he won).
Adesanya left the legend battered and bruised, with Silva embracing the rising star at the end of their three-round fight
Adesanya is 19-0 in MMA and has 14 knockouts along the way. Despite all the flamboyance, dancing entrances like UFC 243 and bravado, Adesanya has every reason to emit the confidence he has. Many fighters have cited the power the 31-year-old possessed, with Kelvin saying he is one of the hardest hitters he has faced.
Many consider Jon Jones the greatest mixed martial artist in the world today and Adesanya has never been shy about targeting the great.
He thinks they’re destined to fight at some point.
“It was something that wasn’t there till he uttered my name and I was like, ‘Hmm – I see what this is about,’” Adesanya told MMA Junkie. “I see where destiny is placing certain characters in my movie. So yeah, that fight is really important. I don’t need it, to be honest. My coach doesn’t think I need it.”
Adesanya has operated at light-heavyweight and heavyweight during his kickboxing days. He matches Bones’ 6ft 4in frame and would simply need to pack on muscle again to meet him at heavyweight.
He has an impressive kickboxing record of 75-5-1 and won New Zealand’s national kickboxing tournament, King in the Ring, three times, which is the most in the tournament’s history.
Adesanya has always been a phenomenon in whatever discipline he is fighting in.
Many people forget, his UFC debut only came in February 2018. He was the interim middleweight title 14 months later and was the world champion by defeating Robert Whittaker on his own turf six months after that at UFC 243 in Australia.
Israel Adesanya burst into tears after winning on his UFC debut in 2018
And before embarking on a mixed martial arts career, Adesanya also had a fleeting boxing career that ended with a record of 5-1. Naturally, he’s gone on record saying he could have been one of the greatest boxers in history had he applied himself to the sport.
Though every UFC fighter would say the same, Adensaya is truly a guy who marches to the beat of his own drum. The tattoos that dominate his body are often just his favourite TV characters or shows, with the exception of his dog that passed away.
“A lot of my tattoos don’t really have meaning. They just look cool. But the meaning kind of makes itself known to me later on after I get them.” he explained.
However, Nigeria is near and dear to his heart. Close friend Kamaru Usman, the current UFC welterweight champion, also hails from Nigeria and both have become passionate about making the African country a proud MMA hotbed in the same vein as places like Brazil and the UK have.
Adesanya and Usman have put Nigeria on the MMA map with their respective UFC careers.
Israel Adesanya told the world he wants to face Jared Cannonier next after emphatically stopping Paulo Costa at UFC 253 on Fight Island.
‘The Last Stylebender’ knocked out his bitter rival in Abu Dhabi after putting on an absolute striking clinic to secure a second round victory.
Israel Adesanya revealed he wants to face Jared Cannonier next – if he can beat Robert Whittaker
From the first moment, Adesanya chopped down the lead leg of the Brazilian and then finished the show when Costa desperately tried to come inside to work his power hooks.
As Costa desperately tried to get to his feet and after Adesanya had finished breakdancing, the New Zealander then revealed he wanted to fight Cannonier – if he could get past Robert Whittaker.
He said: “I know this game, I don’t just play this on EA Sports, I play this for real, so when I do this, I know what I’m talking about.
“I still have to watch it again, little bit sloppy, but I’m a dog and I do what I do.” He said.
