Israel Adesanya News

Christopher Taylor - April 13, 2019

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was not overly impressed by Israel Adesanya’s title-earning performance at UFC 236. Shortly following the conclusion of tonight’s pay-per-view event “Bones” took to Twitter with the following assessment of “Stylebender’s” performance.

Chris Taylor - April 13, 2019

Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya squared off for the promotions interim middleweight title in the co-headliner if tonight’s UFC 236 main event. Kelvin Gastelum entered tonight’s contest on the heels of back-to-back victories over Michael Bisping and Jacare Souza.

Chris Taylor - April 13, 2019

Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum squared off for the promotions interim middleweight championship in the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC 236 event. Kelvin Gastelum is coming off back-to-back victories over Michael Bisping and Jacare Souza in his most recent efforts. 

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

This week, Israel Adesanya discussed the possibility of a future fight with UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, suggesting that he’d like to collect the scalp of another GOAT contender after beating Anderson Silva this past February. “He was right and when I heard about it – I think maybe two days after he said it – I was like, ‘Oh, really?’” Adesanya told TMZ Sports, discussing Jones’ interest in a fight with him (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I had receipts. I had some screenshots from prior and then I posted them to show that I was already on that same plane. So yeah, great minds think alike.

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.

Chris Taylor - April 6, 2019

Kelvin Gastelum will take on Israel Adesanya for the UFC’s interim middleweight championship at next weekend’s UFC 236 event in Atlanta. Gastelum was originally slated to challenge current UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker back at UFC 232, but that bout fell through when “The Reaper” was forced to withdraw from the contest due to health reasons.

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.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2019

The rise of Israel Adesanya has drawn comparisons to the rise of Conor McGregor. The two took the UFC by storm and were both considered future champions from the early phases of their careers. Israel Adesanya agrees he shares some similarities with Conor McGregor, but assures they’re on different paths.

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.

Chris Taylor - February 23, 2019

It is now official! Two UFC interim titles will be up for grabs when the octagon invades Atlanta on April 13 for the promotions UFC 236 event. In the main event of the evening, current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will move up to 155-pounds to take on Dustin Poirier for the promotions interim lightweight title.

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.