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Tag: Israel Adesanya

  • UFC President Commits to Adesanya-Strickland Rematch

    UFC President Commits to Adesanya-Strickland Rematch

    By Daniel Edu

    Dana White, the president of the UFC, expressed disappointment with how Nigerian-born Australian Mixed Martial Artist Israel Adesanya lost his Middleweight title to American fighter Sean Strickland. White, in his critique, described Adesanya as appearing “very stiff” and “in slow motion” during the fight.

    The championship bout between Adesanya and Strickland took place at the Qudos Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, September 10. Despite having the majority of the crowd’s support, Adesanya faced relentless dominance from the American fighter throughout the rounds.

    As a result, after five rounds of intense striking by Strickland against a defensive Adesanya, the three judges unanimously declared Strickland the winner of the fight.

    To the astonishment of many UFC fans, Strickland emerged from the octagon unscathed, while the Nigerian-born Australian fighter left with swollen lips and eyes, despite Strickland being considered the underdog before the fight.

    In response to the unexpected outcome, the UFC president has confirmed that there will indeed be a rematch between the two fighters. This rematch presents an opportunity for Adesanya to reclaim his title and redeem himself.

    White stated, “I think you do the rematch, absolutely. The rematch is interesting, only Israel knows the answers to these questions, and I’m looking forward to hearing it. How crazy is this sport? What do I always say, never judge a fight until it happens. You never know what’s going to happen in this unpredictable sport. Israel appeared to be in slow motion and couldn’t find his rhythm; he was very stiff tonight and looked slow. Some days you wake up, and it’s just not there. He looked off tonight.”

  • Israel Adesanya Arrested in US Over Metal Knuckles

    Israel Adesanya Arrested in US Over Metal Knuckles

    Former UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, has reportedly been arrested for taking brass knuckles through security and John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

    The 33-year-old, who lost his title by TKO to Alex Pereira in New York last Saturday, was arrested by Port Authority police in the American Airlines terminal on Wednesday.

    According to a report on Daily Mail, a Port Authority spokesperson at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York confirmed the arrest, saying Adesanya was booked for possessing ‘metal knuckles.’

    Brass knuckles are a Class A misdemeanor in New York, and it is also illegal to bring them aboard an airplane. It’s not clear where Adesanya allegedly stored the weapon.

    Spokespeople from the UFC are yet to react to the incident.

    Adesanya’s loss has seen him plummet down the pound-for-pound rankings, dropping from No. 2 to No. 8 on MMAfighting.com.

    A native of Lagos, Nigeria, Adesanya is now a citizen of New Zealand and currently lives in Auckland.

    Longtime rivals Adesanya and Pereira went head-to-head on Saturday in a showdown for the UFC middleweight belt, where the latter emerged victorious after a brutal TKO stoppage late in the bout.

    Despite claims that referee Marc Goddard called an end to the fight prematurely, Canadian fighter and trainer Firas Zahabi insists Adesanya should be ‘grateful’ for the decision.

  • UFC 276: Adesanya Defeats Cannonier To Retain UFC Middleweight Title

    UFC 276: Adesanya Defeats Cannonier To Retain UFC Middleweight Title

    Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya early on Sunday morning cruised to his fourth title defence of the middleweight UFC belt against Jared Cannonier.

    The fight which at certain times looked one-sided, ended in a unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45 for the Last Stylebender.

    Adesanya’s last fight also ended in a unanimous decision win over rival Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 in February.

    “He had an excellent game plan; it was really hard to get my follow-ups going, my second phases going,” Adesanya said after he was declared the winner.

    The win is Adesanya’s 12th consecutive victory as a middleweight in the UFC, only one behind the record set by UFC legend Anderson Silva, as the Last Stylebender continues to cement his legacy as one of the greatest to ever step foot in the Octagon.

    “No one like him,” said the WWE legend and actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

    After the bout in which he showed superiority against Cannonier, Adesanya called out Alex Pereira for his next title defence.

    Pereira holds two wins over the Last Stylebender, albeit in kickboxing.

    “The first time I told you it was an error on my part spamming the right hand,” Adesanya said, directing his comments to Pereira.

    “That was in kickboxing. … Next time I punch you, you’ll be on skates and you’re gonna be frozen like Elsa. I’ll leave it at that.”

    With his latest win, Adesanya remains unbeaten at 185 pounds in the UFC with a 12-0 record in the middleweight division.

  • Israel Adesanya Beats Whittaker, Retains UFC Middleweight Belt

    Israel Adesanya Beats Whittaker, Retains UFC Middleweight Belt

    Israel Adesanya has defeated Robert Whittaker with a unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) in the main event of UFC 271 on Saturday night at Toyota Center.

    This is the second time Adesanya will clash with Whittaker, his arch-rival at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

    Whittaker got a chance at revenge on Sunday morning but failed. Adesanya employed his length and reach to counter Whittaker’s boxing, ensuring he left the Octagon with his middleweight belt.

    But the fight was very close, so much so that the crowd booed the decision, thinking Whittaker was the rightful winner.

  • ‘I’ll dethrone Israel Adesanya when the time comes’

    ‘I’ll dethrone Israel Adesanya when the time comes’

    UFC’s most exciting rising, Khamzat Chimaev, has branded Paulo Costa a ‘chicken’ and warned he will ‘smash’ Israel Adesanya. Chimaev is undefeated and has been utterly dominant in three UFC fights so far, earning him a December 19 showdown with British welterweight Leon Edwards.

    But the 26-year-old also competes at middleweight and claims he will be the man to dethrone Adesanya when the time comes. The Nigerian-born New Zealander demolished Costa at UFC 253 last month, but Chimaev was not impressed by the challenger.

    “I think Paulo Costa was scared in the Israel Adesanya fight,’ he told Dan Hardy.

    “I don’t know why people are scared to go in the cage. In the gym everybody is tough with hard sparring then come to the cage and be a chicken. I don’t understand this mentality.

    “Adesanya is good in the stand-up but to be honest, nobody wrestled against him. [Against] Yoel Romero he did only three to four punches of stand-up.

    “I can beat this guy. How will he get up from under me if I take him down? I don’t think he can, I’m going to beat his face.’
    Chimaev has been praised by UFC president Dana White as ‘special’ and the Russian-born Swede has gained incredible momentum with fans in a short space of time.

    His aggressive style and dominant performances combined with a softly spoken menace outside the octagon has driven him to a huge fight so early in his UFC career.

    Edwards is ranked No 3 in the welterweight division and marks a huge step up for Chimaev in the level of opponent.

    But his confidence is soaring and there is no doubt in his mind he can beat anybody, in almost any weight division. He added: “When I started MMA, I always thought I would be a champion in the UFC. When a fighter looks at me in the cage I see how much he wants it and how much I want it.

    “I am born for fighting. When I watch war films or like vikings or something, I think it is how I am in the cage, go to kill somebody and take my gold.

    “I even think I can fight at light-heavyweight, anyone has to kill me to win the fight. My future is to smash everybody, soon I’m going to get this belt.”