Israel Adesanya News

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2019

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has recently traded quite a bit of trash talk with interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, but he’s not sure he’d be willing to fight him. Jones’ next opponent Thiago Santos, however, would relish the chance to fight Adesanya, even if it meant dropping back down to the middleweight division. In fact, Thiago Santos says he has had a few encounters with Israel Adesanya in the past, and they haven’t been particularly pleasant.

Fernando Quiles - June 24, 2019

It appears UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones doesn’t see interim UFC middleweight title holder Israel Adesanya as a threat. Jones and Adesanya are on different paths in the immediate future, but that hasn’t stopped the two men from trading barbs. Jon Jones will defend his 205-pound gold against Thiago Santos in the main event of UFC 239 on July 6. Adesanya will take on Robert Whittaker in a middleweight title unification bout later this year.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

Robert Whittaker captured the UFC interim middleweight title with a July, 2017 defeat of Yoel Romero. He was then promoted to undisputed champion when Georges St-Pierre vacated the undisputed title in late 2017. Current interim champ Israel Adesanya, who fights Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in October, believes Whittaker’s unconventional road to middleweight gold casts doubt on his status as a legitimate champion.

Adam Martin - June 20, 2019

The two best middleweights in MMA are set to fight in a title unification bout this fall. According to a report from Raphael Marinho of Combate, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will take on interim UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 243, which takes place October 6 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It is the biggest fight in MMA history between fighters from Australia and New Zealand.

Thomas Taylor - May 19, 2019

Dustin Poirier and Israel Adesanya both captured interim titles at UFC 236, defeating Max Holloway and Kelvin Gastelum respectively. Now proud owners of some flashy new UFC belts, the UFC 236 winners Poirier and Adesanya both recently returned to home to hero’s welcomes. The UFC documented Israel Adesanya and Dustin Poirier’s homecomings on Instagram.

Natasha Hooper - May 10, 2019

Israel Adesanya has taken aim at the current middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, mocking his heritage. The Twitter image and caption posted by Adesanya mocks Whittaker ahead of their unification title bout intended for 2019. It can be assumed the post was made to promote the fight, cause a stir and put seeds of doubt in the mind of Robert Whittaker.

Tom Taylor - May 10, 2019

Despite the very best efforts of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), there are still fighters in the UFC attempting to use performance enhancing drugs. Over the last few months, the agency has busted several high profile PED-users, most notably former UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw, and will continue to attempt to catch any fighters who are looking to give themselves an unfair advantage. It sounds like USADA will have some help from UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya as they continue on their mission. Speaking in a recent interview with The Schmo, the UFC interim middleweight champ vowed to snitch on anybody he hears is using performance enhancing drugs in the UFC.

Tom Taylor - May 6, 2019

Last week, UFC interim middleweight champ Israel Adesanya took a shot at Yoel Romero on Twitter, questioning the Cuban wrestler’s accomplishments and criticizing him for his previous weight cutting issues. https://twitter.com/stylebender/status/1123985854253416449 “…and tha fuck what. Y’ll act like Romero is the champ, never makes weight, never won a UFC belt. Them: “yOu foUGht aN OLd sIlVa!!” Me: Anderson is 44, Yoel is 42…” – Israel Adesanya on Twitter

Drake Riggs - April 29, 2019

Generally, when an interim champion is crowned, we know exactly what fight will be next for them. That, of course, is none other than the undisputed champion. When “The Last Stylebender” Israel Adesanya (17-0) defeated Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 in a fight of the year candidate, he became the new UFC interim middleweight champion. Thus making an encounter with the undisputed champ, Robert Whittaker (20-4), inevitable.

Tom Taylor - April 23, 2019

Like pretty much everybody else inside the MMA bubble, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman has enjoyed watching new interim middleweight champ Israel Adesanya compete inside the Octagon. That being said, he believes he possesses the physical tools and the skills to give the Nigerian-born Kiwi fits inside the cage. Weidman explains why he feels this way on the latest episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.

Chris Taylor - April 21, 2019

It is becoming very clear that current interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and surging contender Paulo Costa do not like each other. Following his thrilling five round decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, Adesanya was targeted by Costa in a social media post.

James Lynch - April 20, 2019

Kevin Lee wants his next fight to be legendary! Looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, Lee moves up to the welterweight division against former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on ESPN+ 10 on May 18. The 26-year-old plans to be a lot more focused in this fight, as opposed to his last outing against Al Iaquinta, a unanimous decision loss at UFC on FOX 31, where he felt distracted.

Tom Taylor - April 17, 2019

Shortly after Israel Adesanya captured the UFC interim middleweight title by defeating Kelvin Gastelum in the UFC 236 co-main event, he found himself on the receiving end of a social media attack from one of his primary rivals, fellow undefeated middleweight Paulo Costa. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwOyRr_hROw/ “Really this is the interim (fake) champ? Hahah .No doubt this weight division has already been better than this shit. Enjoy this while you can man, I really hope that you take the real belt one day to meet me. Note: And I’m not the Gastelum.” – Paulo Costa on Instagram.

Tom Taylor - April 17, 2019

Israel Adesanya absorbed quite a bit of punishment in his UFC 236 interim middleweight title fight with Kelvin Gastelum, but he also landed plenty of meaningful offense in return. In fact, he landed a record-breaking amount. Shortly after this fight, which Adesanya won by unanimous decision, the UFC announced that the Nigerian-born Kiwi had landed the third most knockdowns ever in a single UFC fight. MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn then added that Adesanya’s four knockdowns landed on Gastelum actually set the record for the most knockdowns in a single title fight.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2019

UFC 236 was a card to remember. The card was topped by a pair of interim title fights — both of which registered as instant classics in the eyes of pretty much everybody who tuned in.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2019

Having won the UFC interim middleweight championship with a thrilling decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 236 this past Saturday, Israel Adesanya can now look forward to a title-unifying collision with undisputed middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. This clash between New Zealand’s Adesanya and Australia’s Whittaker will likely go down in Australia late this year, per UFC President Dana White.

Drake Riggs - April 15, 2019

The undefeated Nigerian kickboxing sensation, Israel Adesanya had a star like quality to him that was evident as soon as he made his Octagon debut in February 2018. Five fights later and he’s now the interim champion of the middleweight division. To earn that label, ‘The Last Stylebender’ defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a thrilling fight of the year candidate in UFC 236’s co-main event this past Saturday.

Christopher Taylor - April 15, 2019

Max Holloway and Israel Adesanya each took home an event-high $350,000 for their efforts at last Saturday’s UFC 236 event in Atlanta. Israel Adesanya went to war with Kelvin Gastelum in Saturday’s co-main attraction. ‘Stylebender’ was forced to battle through adversity for the first time in his UFC career this weekend, this after being dropped by Gastelum in the opening round.