Daniel Cormier questions Israel Adesanya’s motivation ahead of UFC return
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has questioned the motivation of Israel Adesanya ahead of his return to the cage.

This weekend, Israel Adesanya will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon. He is set to face Nassourdine Imavov in what will serve as a really interesting test of where he’s at in his mixed martial arts career. After losing to Dricus du Plessis, he knows that it’s now or never if he wants to get back to a world championship opportunity.
RELATED: Daniel Cormier explains why he could never train with a former rival
Adesanya has made it clear that he’s taking this fight seriously. At the same time, some wonder whether or not this is the beginning of a decline for him. That’s likely becoming a narrative due to the miles he’s accumulated inside the cage, but either way, it’s a conversation that continues to be brought up.
In a recent video of his own, Daniel Cormier weighed in on the debate and where he thinks Adesanya is at in his career.
Cormier’s view on Adesanya’s motivation
“So like when that moment happens, like against (Kelvin) Gastelum, and he was in the corner in the fifth round and he went, ‘I’ll die for this,’ and he was like mouthing to himself, ‘I’ll die for this, I’ll die for this,’ he had money,” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Sonnen. “He was a kickboxing champion, but he was fighting for an interim championship with the opportunity to get to Robert Whitaker to become the unified champion. He didn’t have money at the rate that he has right now.
“He didn’t have the zeros in the bank account. He didn’t have the accolades. He did not have the notoriety. He’ll find himself in that fourth to fifth round with Imavov this weekend and have to dig deep knowing that nothing changes if he doesn’t, right? Nothing changes.
“Israel Adesanya will still be a star if he wins or he loses. Israel Adesanya will still collect the same paycheck on Saturday night if he loses. The money he has in the bank remains the same. All of his investments and properties will remain the same. How does he pull back to that moment when he didn’t have all those things if need be?
“I never in my life fought a five-round main event that wasn’t for a championship, and I’ve got to be honest: I don’t think that I could. I don’t think I could have went 25 minutes without knowing that there was a shiny gold belt waiting on the end of that because it’s hard to pull that dog out of you whenever you don’t get that thing that means so much when the night’s over.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
Topics:
Daniel Cormier Israel Adesanya UFC