Israel Adesanya News

Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya explained why he is fighting Marvin Vettori next and not Robert Whittaker as many expected him to. Adesanya was widely expected to fight Whittaker in a rematch after the Aussie had a stellar performance at UFC Vegas 24 recently to pick up his third straight win. However, the UFC instead chose to go with Vettori for the title shot, which surprised a lot of people. According to the champ himself, it was a matter of timing as to why Vettori is getting the title shot.

Cole Shelton - April 28, 2021

Israel Adesanya had a similar reaction to many others when Chris Weidman broke his leg at UFC 261. On the main card of the stacked pay-per-view, Weidman and Uriah Hall were having a rematch over 10 years in the making. It was a crucial fight for both men, but unfortunately, on the first strike of the fight, Weidman threw a leg kick that was checked and his leg completely snapped.

Chris Taylor - April 25, 2021

Robert Whittaker gave a hilarious response when asked if hoped Israel Adesanya would beat Marvin Vettori in their scheduled rematch at UFC 263. After Whittaker (23-5 MMA) scored a dominant victory over Kelvin Gastelum last weekend, which extended his current winning streak to three in a row, many fans expected that a rematch with reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya would be next for the Aussie.

Adam Martin - April 25, 2021

Robert Whittaker explained why it was impossible for him to accept a rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 263. Whittaker defeated Kelvin Gastelum at last weekend’s UFC Vegas 24 event to improve to 3-0 since losing his belt to Adesanya at UFC 243. The Aussie was widely expected to be next in line to fight for the title, but the UFC did an about-face this week and gave Marvin Vettori the title shot instead. That decision led to a lot of chatter amongst fight fans, who believed that Whittaker should have been the next man in line. But according to Whittaker, he actually was offered the fight, only the conditions made the fight impossible to take.

Cole Shelton - April 23, 2021

Israel Adesanya will run things back with Marvin Vettori in the main event of UFC 263 on June 12. After Robert Whittaker defeated Kelvin Gastelum on April 17, many expected the former middleweight champ to get the next title shot. However, June was reportedly too quick of a turnaround for him so the promotion decided to book Adesanya vs. Vettori 2, according to Combate.

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

UFC president Dana White confirmed that Marvin Vettori could be next in line to fight UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. After beating Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24 last weekend for his third straight win, it was widely assumed that Robert Whittaker, the No. 1 contender at 185lbs, would be the next in line to fight Adesanya. However, while speaking on the Bill Simmons podcast, White said that the UFC is now looking at Vettori for the next title shot. The reason that’s the case is becuase the UFC is hoping Adesanya returns on June 12 at UFC 263. Right now, that event is headlined by UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, so another title fight taking place on the card could be beneficial for PPV sales.

Harry Kettle - April 20, 2021

UFC president Dana White has confirmed that he believes Robert Whittaker should be next in line to face Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title. Whittaker is coming off the back of an impressive win over Kelvin Gastelum this past weekend with many believing it’s the best he’s ever looked in the UFC. The victory goes nicely alongside his recent successes against Darren Till and Jared Cannonier with many believing he’s the natural No. 1 contender at 185 pounds.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori sent a message to divisional champion Israel Adesanya, telling him that he can’t hide forever. Vettori is coming off of a one-sided beating over Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 23, and immediately after the fight was over, he made it clear that he’s targeting a rematch with Adesanya, the man who defeated him via split decision in 2018. To this date, this was the closest fight that the champ has had at 185lbs, and Vettori makes sure to let him know that on a daily basis. While it seems like Adesanya will be fighting Robert Whittaker next in another rematch, Vettori is still remaining optimistic that he will be the next man in line.

Adam D Martin - April 18, 2021

Robert Whittaker responded after UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya referred to him as his “son” following a win over Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker won a lopsided unanimous decision over Gastelum in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 24 card. The Aussie was able to outstrike Gastelum on the feet and also take him down and control him with his wrestling as he won his third straight fight inside the Octagon. It was a big win for Whittaker and it should put him in line to fight for the belt in his next fight. Speaking to the media following the event, Whittaker had a message for Adesanya, saying that he wants to fight him this fall in Australia.

Chris Taylor - April 10, 2021

Marvin Vettori has called for a rematch with Israel Adesanya following his dominant decision victory over Kevin Holland at today’s UFC Vegas 23 event. Vettori squared off with short-notice replacement Kevin Holland in the headliner of today’s UFC event on ABC and wound up earning a lopsided decision victory.

Christopher Taylor - March 28, 2021

Israel Adesanya was elated to watch his good friend Francis Ngannou capture the UFC heavyweight title on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Ngannou (16-3 MMA) squared off with Stipe Miocic for a second time in the headliner of Saturday’s UFC 260 event with hopes of avenging his previous loss to the Ohio native from back in 2018.

Chris Taylor - March 27, 2021

Darren Till was not happy to learn that BMW had cut ties with Israel Adesanya after the middleweight champ shared a rape joke about Kevin Holland. “Bro, I will f*ckin rape you,” Adesanya said about Holland in a now-deleted Instagram story that has resulted in the UFC superstar coming under heavy criticism. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson condemned Adesanya for his comments, and ‘Stylebender’ later took to his social media to issue an apology.

Adam Martin - March 25, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has issued a public apology after making a rape joke about fellow UFC fighter Kevin Holland. Adesanya came under intense scrutiny this week after posting a video on his Instagram where he said he would rape Holland. Soon after, politicians in New Zealand criticized the UFC superstar for his comments, with Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson strongly condemning Adesanya for his comments. With Adesanya under the spotlight, “The Last Stylebender” took to his social media on Thursday to issue a public apology for the comments. In the statement, Adesanya promised this will be a lesson learned for him.

Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was condemned by New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson after making a rape joke. Adesanya had made a comment on an Instagram story, suggesting that he would rape fellow UFC fighter Kevin Holland, who had recently criticized him for losing to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. “Bro, I’ll f*cking rape you,” the now-deleted story read. Although Adesanya did delete the story, it was already widely viewed by that point, and “The Last Stylebender” has been getting criticized online for the comments. Not only are fans not happy about his comments, but neither is Robertson, NZ’s Deputy Prime Minister.

Adam D Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya responded after Jon Jones recently accused him of “acting like a girl” and “playing the victim.” There is no love lost between Adesanya and Jones, two of MMA’s biggest stars. After Adesanya failed in his bid to capture the UFC light heavyweight championship against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, Jones has been extremely critical towards the middleweight champion, criticizing him for his inability to stuff the takedown and do damage off his back. Adesanya, in turn, has continued to take shots at Jones. Although a fight between these two seems to be a longshot now that Adesanya has lost to Blachowicz, that isn’t stopping both fighters from taking to their social media and continuing to chirp at each other.

Christopher Taylor - March 20, 2021

Israel Adesanya was clearly watching tonight’s UFC Vegas 22 main event between perennial middleweight contenders Kevin Holland and Derek Brunson. Brunson (22-7 MMA) had entered tonight’s event headliner on a three-fight win streak, his latest being a TKO victory over Edmen Shahbazyan in August. Prior to that finish, the middleweight veteran was coming off back-to-back decision victories over Ian Heinisch and Elias Theodorou.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

Jon Jones fired back at Israel Adesanya over his recent comments, saying “I love it when opponents realize they can’t hold my jockstrap.” Adesanya was a guest on Ariel Helwani’s ESPN show on Wednesday and said that he is still pursuing a matchup against Jones despite the fact he just lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. The fight with Blachowicz exposed Adesanya, who struggled with being able to stop the takedowns from a bigger man. Despite the loss, Adesanya said that he still wants to fight Jones, to which the former UFC light heavyweight champion responded on Twitter.

Christopher Taylor - March 17, 2021

Israel Adesanya has confirmed he will be fighting Darren Till next if the Liverpool native can defeat Marvin Vettori at next month’s UFC on ABC 2 event. The UFC’s reigning middleweight champion, Adesanya (20-1 MMA), suffered that first loss of his mixed martial arts career earlier this month to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. ‘Stylebender’ had jumped up a weight class in order to challenge the Polish champion, but ultimately fell victim to a unanimous decision loss.