Israel Adesanya

Sean Strickland’s Coach Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya: ‘You’re Not Gonna Find Many People That Fight Like Him…’

Sean Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, recently offered insights on the upcoming title showdown between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya set for UFC 305. Du Plessis is set to make the first defense of his middleweight title in a much-awaited showdown of fierce rivalry against Adesanya, headlining the pay-per-view event on August 17 at the […]

Continue Reading Sean Strickland’s Coach Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya: ‘You’re Not Gonna Find Many People That Fight Like Him…’ at MMA News.

Sean Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, recently offered insights on the upcoming title showdown between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya set for UFC 305.

Du Plessis is set to make the first defense of his middleweight title in a much-awaited showdown of fierce rivalry against Adesanya, headlining the pay-per-view event on August 17 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.

“Stillknocks” was originally targeted to challenge Adesanya after his impressive victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023. However, fate had other plans, as an injury sidelined the South African. In the meantime, “The Last Stylebender” suffered an unexpected defeat, losing the middleweight title to Strickland at UFC 293.

Du Plessis made a triumphant return by defeating Strickland in a razor-close split decision, clinching the 185-pound title at UFC 297 this past January. Now, the stage is perfectly set for these two adversaries to finally settle their scores in the Octagon as Adesanya gears up to make his return after an 11-month hiatus—the longest of his UFC career.

Nicksick believes that both fighters are evenly matched heading into UFC 305, but the outcome will hinge on just how much “The Last Stylebender” has sharpened his skills during his time away from the competition…

Nicksick Calls Du Plessis vs. Adesanya a ’50-50′ Battle

During a recent interview with MMAFightingonSBN, Nicksick dissected the highly anticipated clash between Du Plessis and Adesanya. The renowned MMA coach predicted that both fighters stand on equal footing with an even chance of victory. However, he emphasized that much will depend on how well the former UFC middleweight champion performs after such a lengthy hiatus from the sport.

“I kind of consider it a 50-50 coin flip, man. I really do. I’m very curious to see what type of Izzy comes back,” Nicksick said. “In a lot of ways, selfishly, I’m pulling for him because, you know, the division is much better with a talented and, you know, championship-level Israel Adesanya in the division.”

Nicksick went on to say that, based on Du Plessis’ performance against Strickland, he sees “Stillknocks” as the favorite. He noted that Du Plessis’ unorthodox style makes him a formidable challenge for Adesanya, potentially giving him the edge in this matchup.

“I really took a liking to Dricus over the last year or so. I wouldn’t say we’re close, but we’re friendly and very respectful towards one another, and I’m pulling for him in a lot of ways because I think he has been severely overlooked over the years. He’s a problem, man, and he’s only getting better. I think the way he’s starting to fight and understand who and what he is as a fighter—he’s awkward in a way like Sean is, but with more power, right? It’s hard—it’s very hard. It was very difficult for us to find particular sparring partners for Dricus’ camp. You’re not going to find many people that can fight like him.”

Du Plessis and Adesanya have been on a collision course long before their fiery face-off at UFC 290. Their upcoming showdown promises to be a captivating spectacle, as both fighters bring their own distinctive and formidable fighting styles to the table.

Read More: Coach Dismisses Outcome Of Decade-Old Sparring Session Between Adesanya & Du Plessis: ‘We’ve Heard Stories Of AJ Being Knocked Out In Boxing…’

Continue Reading Sean Strickland’s Coach Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya: ‘You’re Not Gonna Find Many People That Fight Like Him…’ at MMA News.

Islam Makhachev’s Coach Discusses Potential Middleweight Title Fight Against Du Plessis & Adesanya

Islam Makhachev will have been happy to see Belal Muhammad become the welterweight champion at UFC 304 after the training they have done together in the past. However, there is a sense that this result messed with the future plans of the lightweight champion. Had Leon Edwards defeated Muhammad and secured his third title defense, […]

Continue Reading Islam Makhachev’s Coach Discusses Potential Middleweight Title Fight Against Du Plessis & Adesanya at MMA News.

Islam Makhachev will have been happy to see Belal Muhammad become the welterweight champion at UFC 304 after the training they have done together in the past.

However, there is a sense that this result messed with the future plans of the lightweight champion.

Had Leon Edwards defeated Muhammad and secured his third title defense, Makhachev would have been high on the list of his potential challengers having laid out his ambition to become a two-weight world champion in the near future.

He now finds himself in a similar situation as to the one Kamaru Usman had during his welterweight title reign where he wanted a second belt but a friend of his, Israel Adesanya in Usman’s case, is the champion of the weight class above.

Just like how Usman briefly flirted with the idea of skipping over Adesanya’s division to jump up two weight classes instead, Makhachev has mentioned competing at middleweight.

Javier Mendez Gives His Take On Islam Makhachev Fighting At Middleweight

Though the idea was brushed off by the current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, maybe there is a future where Makhachev moves from 155 to 185.

He still has contenders to face in his own division and is set to be out for a bit longer due to a recently disclosed hand injury but the lightweight king has big ambitions.

In an interview with Submission Radio, his coach Javier Mendez spoke about what this would mean for Makhachev, revealing that whilst nothing serious has taken place, they have spoken about the idea.

“Islam said that middleweight would be kind of something but he’d have to put on some muscle so this is not just me, this is Islam thinking the same thing that yeah if it did ever come through, so it’s really not ideally something that we’re really looking at but it was something that was discussed but he’d have to put on some size if that was ever to happen.”

Mendez went on to say that whilst it would obviously be a tough and unheard of task to accomplish, he can understand why Makhachev would want to do it because it would define his legacy.

“If he was able to pull something like that off, if that ever was materialized and he did pull it off, that would put him in the top three pound-for-pound of all time.”

Continue Reading Islam Makhachev’s Coach Discusses Potential Middleweight Title Fight Against Du Plessis & Adesanya at MMA News.

Israel Adesanya’s Midnight Encounter with a Chinese Triad

Former UFC champion Israel Adesanya had a run-in with some members of the Chinese Triad. This was years ago…

Former UFC champion Israel Adesanya had a run-in with some members of the Chinese Triad. This was years ago when the Nigerian-Kiwi fighter was kickboxing in China.

Israel Adesanya Fighting in China

In the early 2010s, ‘The Last Stylebender’ was a key kickboxer in the Chinese-based kickboxing organization Wu Lin Feng, and also fought in China’s Glory of Heroes and Kunlun. This is where his rivalry began with Alex Pereira, the two had two bouts against one another in Glory of Heroes.

The Chinese Triad is an organized crime syndicate. In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Israel Adesnaya recalls one night while competing in China:

“I have a lot of my wildest memories in China. I was fighting on a show with my teammate, Mike ‘Blood Diamond’ Mathetha, and then, in the middle of the night, the promoter came into our hotel room and took us to go hang out with this triad dude and his entourage. That was a good, wild experience.”

MMA and the UFC

Having lost in GLORY Kickboxing and to ‘Poatan’ Pereira, Adesanya changed his priorities to MMA. The Nigerian-Kiwi athlete was able to put together a perfect 20-0 record and pick up a UFC world title, before earning his first loss against light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.

In total, Israel Adesanya would defend his middleweight crown in five bouts before losing it to Pereira. Adesanya would later avenge that loss recapturing the throne, and then losing it to Sean Strickland. The US-born Strickland lost the title to Dricus du Plessis who Israel Adesanya will next face. He is looking to recapture his UFC middleweight title live from Australia at UFC 305 on August 18.

Dricus du Plessis claims Israel Adesanya should have retired last year I saw it in his eyes

On this UFC 305 match, he said:

“That’s really all I care about. Everything else is stupid. This is silly. The fight’s already sold but we have to go on this media sht. We have to do another press conference. I guess that’s to hype the fight up even more. Then the faceoff. Then the weigh-ins, then the faceoff. It’s like, it’s all fcking stupid to me. I want to go in there and beat this c*nt up. So that’s the exciting thing for me, and I’m going to do that. But again, it’s just patience.“

Israel Adesanya Compares Dricus Du Plessis’ ‘Awkward’ Style With Former Opponent

A lot has changed since Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis first faced off inside the Octagon at UFC 290 last year. The middleweight title has been exchanged between them without them fighting inside the Octagon, but that changes at UFC 305 on August 17. At the time, Adesanya would have been considered to be […]

Continue Reading Israel Adesanya Compares Dricus Du Plessis’ ‘Awkward’ Style With Former Opponent at MMA News.

A lot has changed since Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis first faced off inside the Octagon at UFC 290 last year.

The middleweight title has been exchanged between them without them fighting inside the Octagon, but that changes at UFC 305 on August 17.

At the time, Adesanya would have been considered to be a big favorite against the challenger, even after Du Plessis stunned the MMA world by stopping Robert Whittaker.

However, the South African fighter then went on to defeat Sean Strickland for the 185-pound belt. This was after “The Last Stylebender” was convincingly beaten by the short-notice title challenger Strickland at UFC 293, making this upcoming fight very different.

One of the biggest arguments that can be made for the champion retaining the title in Perth is the awkward timing and movement that Du Plessis brings into the cage.

We saw how Strickland was able to stifle Adesanya’s offense and whilst Du Plessis may not have the same defensive ability, he’s very unpredictable.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, the former two-time champion said that he doesn’t expect this to be a problem for him despite “Stillknocks” presenting some issues.

He compared him to a former opponent of his in Marvin Vettori, who Adesanya has faced and beaten twice, with one added element to his game.

“A bit like Vettori to be honest but he’s just more of a risk taker than Vettori. So yeah, I don’t think I’ll have an issue dealing with what he brings but it’s the intangibles, the unknown unknowns. He takes way more risks than Vettori so that’s what makes him really dangerous.”

Israel Adesanya Says Du Plessis Fight Isn’t Personal Despite ‘Blasphemous’ Comments

This fight has had a long time to build and in that time, things have been said that likely aren’t going to be forgiven and forgotten when the dust settles.

Du Plessis’ comments about being the first African champion kicked this feud off and whilst Adesanya wants to make him pay for that, he doesn’t believe that this bout is on the same level as some of his great rivalries in the past.

“The Last Stylebender” told Mike Bohn that he won’t move past what his next opponent said but that doesn’t mean it’s personal for him.

“Nah, I haven’t even fought the guy yet. Those rivalries with Whittaker and Pereira, those are etched in history. Me and this guy haven’t even fought yet. We tried to fight, it never happened, so now we’ll fight and set the score. But nah, it’s not really personal. What he said was blasphemous cuz without myself, Francis and Kamaru, he wouldn’t be able to be champion. So, what he said was really blasphemous and he’ll take accountability for what he said.”

Continue Reading Israel Adesanya Compares Dricus Du Plessis’ ‘Awkward’ Style With Former Opponent at MMA News.

Imane Khelif: Israel Adesanya Offers Public Apology to Olympic Boxer: ‘I got that wrong’

Former UFC champion Israel Adesanya has admitted he was incorrect about Imane Khelif. The Algerian amateur boxer has been…

Former UFC champion Israel Adesanya has admitted he was incorrect about Imane Khelif. The Algerian amateur boxer has been the subject of much commotion during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Her gender was brought into question and social media was ignited.

Imane Khelif

Last year, the IBA suspended Imane Khelif over a “Gender Test.” What this test was remains inconclusive. The IBA has not come forth with any information despite hosting a press conference just days ago. The Algerian boxer has been in the Olympic testing system for years and has never tested positive for elevated testosterone levels nor is she a trans athlete.

The IBA is not considered a legitimate or reputable organization. The Olympics do not recognize them because of past issues with corruption. With the eyes of the world on them, the IBA hosted a 90-minute press conference in which they showed no evidence to back up anything they’ve claimed, and their claims remain dubious. In a statement, the IOC slammed the IBA for their work, they said:

The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.

Imane Khelif is not a trans athlete, she is not a man, and she does not have elevated testosterone levels. But the facts didn’t matter. Social Media platform X was ignited with furor. Bad faith arguers were ready to attack. More recently, many of these individuals have come forward and apologized for their words. They realize they were spreading misinformation.

The Nigerian-Kiwi Israel Adesanya, former UFC champion, had some choice words for Imane Khelif. But, the former kickboxer has now reversed and issued a public apology. He said:

“I don’t like to get triggered and when something triggers me, I’m a fighter, I saw the news or articles and I was like, ‘Why they letting a trans person [fight women]’ and then I find out later she wasn’t actually a trans [person]. So to the lady, my bad. I got that wrong. To the lady, the boxer, I’m sorry. I didn’t understand what was going on.” [H/t Totalprosports]

Israel Adesanya publicly apologising to Imane Khelif for tweeting misinformation about her

“She wasn’t actually trans. To the lady, my bad, I got that wrong.” pic.twitter.com/Pgt62J6HFy

— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) August 7, 2024

Israel Adesanya will be back in the octagon next week. The striker is looking to reclaim his middleweight title as he faces the South African Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305. The event will be broadcast live from Perth, Australia.

Former Fighter On Du Plessis Getting Under Adesanya’s Skin: ‘Reacts Incredibly Emotionally’

Israel Adesanya faces a new test when he returns at UFC 305 to try and reclaim the middleweight title in a fight with Dricus Du Plessis. “The Last Stylebender” has had his rivals in the past and whilst his story with Alex Pereira has defined big parts of both men’s careers, and the likes of […]

Continue Reading Former Fighter On Du Plessis Getting Under Adesanya’s Skin: ‘Reacts Incredibly Emotionally’ at MMA News.

Israel Adesanya faces a new test when he returns at UFC 305 to try and reclaim the middleweight title in a fight with Dricus Du Plessis.

“The Last Stylebender” has had his rivals in the past and whilst his story with Alex Pereira has defined big parts of both men’s careers, and the likes of Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland weren’t big fans of his, this one is different.

No opponent has been able to bring this kind of intensity out of the former champion quite like Du Plessis has. due to his comments on bringing the title back to Africa.

This opens up the debate whether Adesanya fights best when he’s relaxed or amped up.

Megan Anderson Says That Israel Adesanya’s Emotion Could Help Or Hinder Him At UFC 305

In a recent preview video of the UFC’s return to Perth on her own YouTube channel, former UFC fighter Megan Anderson spoke about the war of words between Du Plessis and Adesanya.

Things appeared to have calmed down (a little) on this front if their most recent encounter was anything to go by but there is clearly still some tension there which could come back around on fight week.

Anderson believes that Adesanya’s previous interactions with the champion don’t paint the best image for him unless, of course, he can use this dislike of Du Plessis to raise his game another level.

“If anything has shown us, anytime these two get together, Israel reacts incredibly emotionally. He is saying things that we’ve never heard him say before, he is really just going out there and just being so incredibly passionate about this. How much of that is Dricus really revving up this whole rivalry between them and this is getting under Israel’s skin, we’re going to find out. But, whether it hurts him or helps him perform, that’s the biggest question for me.”

Continue Reading Former Fighter On Du Plessis Getting Under Adesanya’s Skin: ‘Reacts Incredibly Emotionally’ at MMA News.