Israel Adesanya News

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

Israel Adesanya is currently gearing up for an interim middleweight title fight with Kelvin Gastelum, which goes down in the co-main event of UFC 236 in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday night. That being said, the Nigerian-born Kiwi is not afraid to look to the future. Part of that future, he says, could be a showdown with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Adesanya reminds that he’s already beaten one fighter widely considered the Greatest of all Time in Anderson Silva, and would happily take out another.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

Israel Adesanya, who battles Kelvin Gastelum for the interim middleweight title in the co-main of UFC 236 this weekend, is believed to have some of the best striking in MMA. The Kiwi kickboxer’s striking is so highly rated that he was actually flown into Florida by renowned coach Henri Hooft in 2015, where he served as a sparring partner for Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. At the time, Johnson was gearing up for a light heavyweight title fight with Jon Jones — a fight that never happened.

Mike Straus - April 11, 2019

UFC 236 will make history as the first pay-per-view event to have two interim title fights decided on the same night. After a two week hiatus, the world leader in MMA is back with a fun night of fights. The State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia will play host to the action this weekend.

Cole Shelton - April 11, 2019

In the co-main event of UFC 236 this Saturday, Israel Adesanya is set to take on Kelvin Gastelum for the UFC’s interim middleweight title. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. Although many think Adesanya will win, some just can’t count out Gastelum.

Cole Shelton - March 21, 2019

A common complaint UFC fans have is that there aren’t many huge MMA stars at the moment. It’s a recurring complaint, with Ronda Rousey leaving the spot, Brock Lesnar in the WWE and Conor McGregor fighting so infrequently. However, UFC President Dana White does not agree with these claims. Rather, he says there is a ton of up and coming prospects that will soon turn into stars.

Tom Taylor - March 15, 2019

Israel Adesanya is currently working on conquering the UFC middleweight division, as he’s set to battle Kelvin Gastelum for interim gold at UFC 236. From the sounds of it, however, there could be a move to light heavyweight division in his future, as he’s recently been flirting with the notion of super fight with reigning champ Jon Jones. Speaking to Submission Radio recently, Israel Adesanya said that this is a challenge he looks forward to.

Drake Riggs - March 14, 2019

At UFC 234 in February, ‘The Last Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya picked up the biggest win of his still relatively young MMA career when he scored a unanimous decision over former UFC middleweight king, Anderson Silva. Despite the win, not everyone was all too impressed. And that includes the division’s champion, Robert Whittaker who was supposed to be fighting that same night as well until he suffered a collapsed bowel and hernia that forced him out of action.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2019

For a period, middleweight destroyers Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa were expected to collide this spring. In a surprising twist, however, Romero was then matched up with Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, leaving Costa without an opponent. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Romero stated that he heard Paulo Costa had been flagged for a potential United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation — the reason he’s apparently been pulled from this fight.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2019

The UFC has dropped the official posters for two of its upcoming cards: UFC 236 and UFC Philadelphia. UFC Philadelphia goes down on March 30. The card will be headlined by a lightweight bloodletting between Edson Barboza and Justin Gaethje. Other highlights of the bill include a strawweight fight between Michelle Waterson and Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and a lightweight scrap between Ross Pearson and Desmond Green.

Tom Taylor - February 26, 2019

UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker recently shared his belief that, between Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya, who battle for the interim belt at UFC 236, Adesanya the easier matchup. Speaking on a recent edition of The MMA Hour, Israel Adesanya made a similar comment, explaining that he considers Whittaker a tougher fight than Gastelum.

Tom Taylor - February 24, 2019

It’s no secret that reigning UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva are big fans of one another. Speaking to MMAjunkie recently, Jones’ admiration for Silva once again shone through. The light heavyweight king praised the Brazilian legend for his recent performance against undefeated contender Israel Adesanya. While Silva lost this fight by decision, Jones — like many fans — was blown away by the 43-year-old legend’s efforts.

Tom Taylor - February 24, 2019

UFC 236, which goes down on April 13 inside the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, is already coming together nicely. Earlier this month, we learned that the card will feature an interim middleweight title fight between top contenders Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya, and this weekend, we learned that it will also include an interim lightweight title fight between streaking contender Dustin Poirier and reigning featherweight champ Max Holloway. If things go according to plan, it will be the first card in UFC history to feature two interim title fights.

James Lynch - February 21, 2019

Israel Adesanya has opened as a slight betting favorite against Kelvin Gastelum for their interim middleweight title fight at UFC 236. Oddsmaker Nick Kalikas of BetDSI opened “Stylebender” as a -185 favorite (bet $185 to win $100) against Gastelum +155 (bet $100 to win $155) ahead of their clash on Apr. 13.

Tom Taylor - February 21, 2019

Robert Whittaker was supposed to defend the UFC middleweight title against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 234 earlier this month. Unfortunately, the champion was forced out of the fight on the very day of the card, and rushed into the hospital with a collapsed hernia. This issue could keep Whittaker on the shelf for quite some time. Given that it’s already been close to a year since his last fight, the promotion has decided to create an interim middleweight title to keep the division moving in his stead. The interim title fight will occur at UFC 236 on April 13, when Gastelum battles undefeated contender Israel Adesanya.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2019

Darren Till and Israel Adesanya are two of the most impressive strikers in the UFC, and as luck would have it, they’re only separated by one weight class. As a matter of fact, they might soon reside in the same weight class, as the hulking welterweight Darren Til has long teased a move up to Adesanya’s middleweight turf. And should these two bright young striking specialists wind up in the same division, the UFC would be foolish not to pit them against each other.

Drake Riggs - February 19, 2019

After some recent speculation as the date draws closer, we now know the second bout for UFC 236 which takes place on April 13. ESPN has confirmed that at UFC 236 we will be treated to a middleweight title showdown… But it won’t be for the undisputed title.

Chris Taylor - February 13, 2019

Undefeated UFC middleweight contender Israel Adesanya does not want to see the promotions 185-pound division held up by injured champ Robert Whittaker. Whittaker was supposed to defend his UFC middleweight championship against Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC 234 this past weekend in Australia.

Tom Taylor - February 13, 2019

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last Saturday’s UFC 234 card, and as expected, Israel Adesanya has burst into the middleweight division’s top-5 on the strength of his decision defeat of the legend Anderson Silva. Elsewhere, the men’s flyweight division continues to be the picture of chaos, as many of the weight class’s top fighters have been cut by the promotion.