Israel Adesanya News
Glover Teixeira on Alex Pereira signing with UFC: “Adesanya must be praying”
Harry Kettle - September 20, 2021
Glover Teixeira has given his thoughts on Alex Pereira finally signing with the UFC – and why Israel Adesanya should be afraid. The Brazilian kickboxer, who holds a 3-1 professional mixed martial arts record, is set to debut for the UFC at Madison Square Garden later this year in one of the most anticipated middleweight introductions in recent memory.
Dana White confirms Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 targeted for January
Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021
UFC president Dana White confirmed that the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is being targeted for January. Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision back in June at UFC 263, and the hope was that the UFC would be able to get the middleweight champ back in the cage one more time before 2021 was up. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel and quarantine rules for fighters in Australia and New Zealand, it has become difficult for the UFC to get this fight booked. In fact, as White told The Daily Telegraph in a recent interview, he is now targeting the Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 fight to take place next year.
Derek Brunson says controlling Israel Adesanya on the ground isn't good enough, he wants to finish him
Adam D Martin - September 15, 2021
UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson says controlling champ Israel Adesanya on the ground isn’t good enough, as he wants to finish him. Brunson is one of the hottest fighters in the UFC right now as the veteran middleweight has won his last five fights in a row, with his latest win, a submission victory over Darren Till, being the most impressive of the bunch. Following the big win over Till, Brunson called out Adesanya for a rematch in what would be a middleweight title bout. The last time these two fought, there was no title on the line and Adesanya knocked Brunson out in a devastating fashion. However, Brunson believes that he has made the necessary adjustments in order to defeat Adesanya and show that he can be beaten — and finished.
Luke Rockhold calls out Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman for not backing Francis Ngannou: “They should’ve just stood by him and been men”
Adam D Martin - September 14, 2021
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold called out Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman for not backing Francis Ngannou. Rockhold makes his return to the Octagon after more than two years away in November at UFC 268 when he takes on Sean Strickland. Ahead of his comeback to the cage, Rockhold has been doing the media rounds and one of his stops was Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour.
Anderson Silva believes Israel Adesanya is unbeatable at middleweight: 'I don’t see anybody that can win'
Cole Shelton - September 2, 2021
Anderson Silva thinks Israel Adesanya will be the UFC’s middleweight champion for the foreseeable future. Adesanya is coming off a decision victory over Marvin Vettori to defend his middleweight title for the third time. However, in the fight before he did lose to Jan Blachowicz by decision for the light heavyweight belt. Yet, for Silva, he says Adesanya is too skilled and doesn’t see anyone beating him in the weight class.
Israel Adesanya shares his thoughts on Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley, questions one scorecard
Harry Kettle - September 2, 2021
UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya has given his thoughts on the fight between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley. Last Sunday night, Jake Paul was able to keep his unbeaten pro boxing record going thanks to a split decision win over the aforementioned Woodley. “The Problem Child” had to face some adversity but did more than enough to get his hand raised, cementing his spot as one of the biggest draws in the sport right now.
Israel Adesanya says he will fight for the UFC light heavyweight title again: "The story’s not finished yet"
Cole Shelton - August 22, 2021
Israel Adesanya is focused on defending his middleweight title but he is open to fighting for light heavyweight gold again. At UFC 259 in March, Adesanya moved up in weight to face Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title in a try to become a champ-champ. Unfortnately, the fight did not go his way and he lost a decision for his first professional MMA loss.
Darren Till confident he will become UFC champion: "I will be beating you, Izzy, you f*****g know it"
Cole Shelton - August 17, 2021
Darren Till believes he will defeat Israel Adesanya to become the UFC middleweight champion. Till has been vocal about being a UFC champion in his career but it has yet to come to fruition so far. He did fight for UFC gold at UFC 228 but lost by submission to Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title.
Israel Adesanya "100 percent" believes fight with Jon Jones happens
Cole Shelton - August 16, 2021
Israel Adesanya still believes he will fight Jon Jones sometime in the future. Adesanya and Jones had a feud in 2019 and 2020 and many thought a fight between them would happen. However, in March of this year, Adesanya lost a decision to Jan Blachowicz, and many thought that ended hope of the scrap happening as it provided a blueprint for “Bones” to win.
Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 reportedly pushed back until 2022
Chris Taylor - August 14, 2021
The highly anticipated UFC middleweight title fight rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker has reportedly been pushed back until 2022. Dana White and company were originally looking to book Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 for the main event of UFC 268 on November 6 at Madision Square Garden in New York. However, the States new pandemic-related restrictions have forced the promotion to make a change of plans.
Paulo Costa explains why he got drunk the night before Israel Adesanya fight at UFC 253
Adam D Martin - August 13, 2021
Paulo Costa explains why he got drunk the night before his UFC middleweight title fight against champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. Costa was knocked out by Adesanya at UFC 253 in what was an uncompetitive fight from the Brazilian. Although Costa was unbeaten heading into the Adesanya fight and looking every bit the part of a legitimate title contender, he had a lackluster outing against “Stylebender” and was put to sleep for his efforts. After the fight, Costa admitted that he was drunk on wine the night before and that it played a role in his poor performance that night. Speaking to ESPN in a recent interview, Costa elaborated on what happened to him.
Coach claims Jon Jones would prefer Jan Blachowicz over ‘Stylebender’ in potential return to 205: “Israel’s not the guy anymore”
Adam D Martin - August 10, 2021
Jon Jones’ coach says he would prefer Jan Blachowicz over ‘Stylebender’ in a potential return to 205, saying “Israel’s not the guy anymore.” Jones and the UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya talked a lot of trash to each other over the last few years, and at one point in time, it seemed like a meeting between these two superstars was inevitable. However, with Jones moving up to the UFC heavyweight division, and with Adesanya losing to Blachowicz in his bid to become the promotion’s 205lbs champion, it appears as though there is not as much interest in this fight now. At least that’s what Jones’ coach Mike Winkeljohn claimed in a recent interview with Submission Radio, where the veteran striking coach explained what motivates Jones.
Sean Strickland breaks down potential future UFC middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya
Adam Martin - August 1, 2021
Top-ranked contender Sean Strickland broke down how a potential future UFC middleweight title fight against champion Israel Adesanya would go. Strickland defeated Uriah Hall in the main event of UFC Vegas 33 via unanimous decision to earn the biggest win of his career and jump into the top-10 at 185lbs. Ever since returning from a potentially life-threatening motorcycle accident last fall as a middleweight, Strickland has looked absolutely exceptional. He defeated Jack Marshman in his middleweight debut in a memorable fight that involved plenty of trash-talking, then he knocked out top prospect Brendan Allen, beat veteran Krzysztof Jotko, and then beat Hall to pick up the biggest win of his career and get one step closer to fighting for the belt.
Uriah Hall hoping for future UFC title fight against Israel Adesanya: "I think my style is perfectly matched up for him"
Adam D Martin - July 30, 2021
Uriah Hall is hoping for a future UFC title fight against Israel Adesanya, saying that “I think my style is perfectly matched up for him.” Hall takes on Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC Vegas 33 this Saturday night in a battle of top-15 ranked middleweights. Both Hall and Strickland are riding four-fight win streaks into this fight, so the winner will assuredly be in line for a top-ranked opponent should they win in an impressive fashion. For both Hall and Strickland, the goal is to keep getting their hands raised and eventually get to a title shot against the middleweight champion Adesanya. For Hall, beating Strickland would give him five straight wins at 185lbs, and after beating Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman previously, he is hoping that a big win over Strickland will springboard him to near the top of the middleweight division.
Watch Israel Adesanya react to Conor McGregor breaking his leg at UFC 264
Adam D Martin - July 12, 2021
In a new video posted to his YouTube channel, watch Israel Adesanya react to Conor McGregor breaking his leg in the main event of UFC 264. Like everyone else who loves MMA, Adesanya was watching the UFC 264 pay-per-view card with a group of his friends and was glued to the action for the main event between McGregor and Poirier. The fight started off strong for the Irishman as he was able to land some hard kicks on Poirier, but as soon as McGregor went to his back on the ground, it seemed like the tide turned in the fight. Ultimately, Poirier won the fight via first-round TKO (doctor stoppage) when McGregor was not able to continue due to his injury.
Robert Whittaker admits trash talk from "sh*thead" Israel Adesanya got in his head: "It did, because the last fight I was kind of very emotional”
Chris Taylor - July 3, 2021
Robert Whittaker admits that he let his emotions get the best of him in his first fight with Israel Adesanya at UFC 243. Whittaker (23-5 MMA) and Adesanya (21-1 MMA) squared off for the promotions undisputed middleweight title in October of 2019, with ‘Stylebender’ emerging victorious by way of second round knockout.
UFC 263 salaries revealed with Israel Adesanya leading the way and Nate Diaz pocketing $250k
Cole Shelton - June 21, 2021
The UFC 263 salaries have been revealed with Israel Adesanya making the most amount of money. UFC 263 took place in Glendale, Arizona on June 12 and the Arizona Department of Gaming was able to reveal the payouts for the fighters to MMAJunkie. To no surprise, Adesanya, who defeated Marvin Vettori in the main event to defend his middleweight belt made the most money as he cashed $500,000. Vettori, meanwhile, made $350,000 which was the second-highest on the card.
Robert Whittaker dubs Israel Adesanya’s UFC 263 performance as average, ‘Stylebender’ responds
Adam D Martin - June 21, 2021
Robert Whittaker dubbed UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s UFC 263 performance as average, and “The Last Stylebender” responded. Adesanya defeated rival Marvin Vettori in the pair’s rematch as last weekend’s UFC 263 pay-per-view event in Glendale, Arizona. Adesanya was able to utilize his superior striking and showed improvements in his grappling as he was able to win a unanimous decision over the Italian. Vettori, of course, only got the title shot against Adesanya after Whittaker was forced to decline it due to the fight’s close proximity to his matchup against Kelvin Gastelum in April. With Whittaker unable to take the fight at that time, Vettori stepped up and got the title shot instead, only Adesanya was able to go in there and win handily.