UFC middleweight Israel Adesanya discussed his Auckland based team ahead of his fight with Derek Brunson at Madison Square Garden.
One of the more anticipated marque match-ups at this weekend’s UFC 230 PPV pits 6th ranked middleweight Derek Brunson (18-6) against the fast-rising Israel Adesanya (14-0). The event, which takes place at Madison Square Garden, is the first pay-per-view slot for Adesanya, who impressed last time out by beating up Brad Tavares at the The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale.
Submission Radio caught up with Adesanya and spoke with the Nigerian-born New Zealander about his forthcoming fight. You can check that out in the video above.
One line of questioning for Adesanya was about the middleweight-tournament feeling that has been ascribed to UFC 230. Along with his scrap versus Brunson the event features Chris Weidman vs. Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, and Dave Branch vs. Jared Cannonier.
“Whoever really shows up and makes a statement, I think is in line for the belt,” said Adesanya. Former champion Chris Weidman, who also spoke to Submission Radio, is on record stating that he should be on standby should anything happen with the expected (though not scheduled) Kelvin Gastelum vs. Robert Whittaker middleweight title fight. Adesanya disagreed.
“He’s all the way in New York — I’m only in New Zealand,” he said. “I stay ready, I keep training. So if, two weeks out, Kelvin slips on a banana peel and they’re like, ‘S**t, who we gonna call?’… It’s perfect; the Trans-Tasman rivalry between the wallaby and the All Black, how are you going to deny that? You can’t. [Weidman has] already had a shot. I feel like when I beat [Whittaker], then he can fight me for the belt.”
Adesanya was also asked about his team ahead of the biggest fight of his MMA career. Adesanya is a member of Eugene Bareman’s City Kickboxing in Auckland. The small gym is home to UFC standouts Dan Hooker and Alex Volkanovski. Specifically, Adesanya was asked how it felt to remain with this core group despite the stage he was fighting on swelling exponentially in the past year.
“I keep my circle small,” replied Adesanya. “I’m not one of those no-new friends types. I’m like, ‘Okay, if you want to come to the table you have to bring something of value.’ You can’t just come to the table and start eating.”
“So whoever is coming to the team, they need to bring something of value and can’t be a s—t-c—t,” continued the former GLORY kickboxer. “Because a lot of people in this game are s—t-c—ts. They’re vultures. They’re leeches. They’re snakes and I can spot them from a mile away. I’ve been in this a long time. I’ve had people approach me and I’m like, they’re just casting their net wide.
“Even though the smart ones have approached me years ago, but they were just casting their net. But I’m not one of these guys who will fall on my team because I have ‘better opportunities’ now. The best opportunities are with the guys who got me to the dance, so I’m going to stick with them.”
Adesanya appeared very confident that his small team had prepared him enough to get the best of Brunson on Saturday night. When asked to compare he and his opponent, Adesanya said, “There’s no comparison.”
“The artistry speaks for itself. Look at his style. Look at his body of work and look at my body of work. There’s no comparison. What makes him ‘good’ is his chaos. But that’s for guys who just stand there and get hit. Whenever he fights he’s hit and miss. With me he’s going to miss many times and get hit.”
Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya is the first fight on the UFC 230 pay-per-view card, which is headlined by a UFC heavyweight title tilt between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis. That action begins at 10 PM ET.