Israel Adesanya News
Robert Whittaker says he has "a couple of things up my sleeve" for Israel Adesanya in potential rematch
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
Robert Whittaker knows he has to fight differently if he rematches Israel Adesanya. At UFC 243, Whittaker suffered a second-round knockout loss to Adesanya to lose his middleweight title. Since the loss, he rebounded nicely with a five-round decision win over Darren Till on Fight Island and followed that up with a decision over Jared Cannonier.
Jon Jones fires back at Israel Adesanya over his recent comments: “I love it when opponents realize they can’t hold my jockstrap”
Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021
Jon Jones fired back at Israel Adesanya over his recent comments, saying “I love it when opponents realize they can’t hold my jockstrap.” Adesanya was a guest on Ariel Helwani’s ESPN show on Wednesday and said that he is still pursuing a matchup against Jones despite the fact he just lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. The fight with Blachowicz exposed Adesanya, who struggled with being able to stop the takedowns from a bigger man. Despite the loss, Adesanya said that he still wants to fight Jones, to which the former UFC light heavyweight champion responded on Twitter.
Israel Adesanya confirms Darren Till will be next if he can defeat Marvin Vettori at UFC on ABC 2
Christopher Taylor - March 17, 2021
Israel Adesanya has confirmed he will be fighting Darren Till next if the Liverpool native can defeat Marvin Vettori at next month’s UFC on ABC 2 event. The UFC’s reigning middleweight champion, Adesanya (20-1 MMA), suffered that first loss of his mixed martial arts career earlier this month to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. ‘Stylebender’ had jumped up a weight class in order to challenge the Polish champion, but ultimately fell victim to a unanimous decision loss.
Israel Adesanya responds to criticism from Jon Jones over UFC 259 loss to Jan Blachowicz
Christopher Taylor - March 17, 2021
Israel Adesanya has responded to the criticism he received from rival Jon Jones following his unanimous decision loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. Earlier this month the UFC’s reigning middleweight champion in Adesanya moved up a weight class to challenge Blachowicz for the promotions light heavyweight title. While ‘Stylebender’ had predicted that he would avoid being touched by Jan’s legendary “Polish power” that did not prove to be the case. Instead, Jan Blachowicz went on to handle Israel Adesanya in the grappling department on route to a unanimous decision victory.
Israel Adesanya says Jan Blachowicz beat him 48-47 at UFC 259
Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya says that UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz beat him fair and square at UFC 259. Adesanya lost a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards in a failed bid to become the new champ at 205lbs. The judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-45, and 49-45 in favor of Blachowicz, who successfully defended his light heavyweight belt for the first time. However, there was a lot of discussion about the scorecards afterward. Some thought that Adesanya deserved to get the nod, and UFC analyst Daniel Cormier was criticized for pushing the narrative that he was winning the first few rounds of the fight. Adesanya, however, doesn’t see it that way. Even though he’d love to be the 205lbs champ, he admits he lost the fight.
Jan Blachowicz happy he "destroyed" UFC's plans, reveals what Israel Adesanya needs to do to get a rematch
Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021
Jan Blachowicz knew the UFC had big plans for Israel Adesanya if he became a champ-champ at UFC 259. Entering the fight, Blachowicz said he would try to wrestle Adesanya early and stand with him late. However, the fight played out completely opposite as he stood and traded with Adesanya and in the championship rounds went to his wrestling to secure the win.
Robert Whittaker and team request title rematch with Israel Adesanya after Paulo Costa fight falls apart
Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021
Team Robert Whittaker has requested a title rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after the Paulo Costa fight fell apart. Whittaker was set to fight Costa in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on April 17, with the winner of that fight likely set to fight Adesanya for the belt. However, Costa was forced to pull out of the fight due to illness, which leaves Whittaker without an opponent. But if the Aussie’s team has their way, then they’ll be next for Adesanya either way.
Jan Blachowicz reacts to Daniel Cormier’s scoring of his UFC 259 title fight with Israel Adesanya
Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021
UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz reacted to Daniel Cormier’s scoring of his UFC 259 title fight with Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz defeated Adesanya via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 259. The first couple of rounds were close, but most fans thought Blachowicz took at least or two of the first three rounds, and then he easily took the last two rounds universally. However, while most people scored the fight for Blachowicz, Cormier was criticized heavily because he did the commentary for the fight and seemed to ignore a lot of what Blachowicz did. It led to DC taking to social media, later on, to deny having any sort of bias during his call.
Israel Adesanya "will come hunting for the Polish Power again," says coach
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
Israel Adesanya will eventually seek out a rematch with Jan Blachowicz, according to his long-time coach Eugene Bareman. Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, challenged Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 259 last weekend. While Adesanya performed well in the matchup, Blachowicz ultimately left the cage with a unanimous decision win, and the light heavyweight belt still slung over his shoulder.
Report | UFC 259 sold 800,000 pay-per-views worldwide
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
According to a new report from the Sports Business Journal, this past Saturday’s UFC 259 pay-per-view event sold 800,000 PPVs worldwide. UFC 259 featured a super fight in the main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya, one of the sport’s biggest stars. Along with that big fight, the event also featured two other title fights: Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson for the UFC women’s featherweight title, and Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling for the UFC bantamweight title. Overall, it was a great card and paper and mostly lived up to the hype. But the question that UFC president Dana White and the other organizational executives wanted to know was how many PPV buys the card would sell.
Darren Till is the "biggest challenge" for Israel Adesanya at middleweight according to coach
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Israel Adesanya’s coach, Eugene Bareman, believes there are only two fights for him at middleweight. After Adesanya lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 for the light heavyweight many wondered who would be next. There are three big fights in Darren Till vs. Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa, and Kevin Holland vs Derek Brunson. However, according to Bareman, the only fights that make sense are the rematch with Whittaker or fighting Till.
Jon Jones shuts down Israel Adesanya fight, takes shot at Eugene Bareman: "Your boy has almost no takedown defense or offense off his back"
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
UFC heavyweight Jon Jones took a shot at Israel Adesanya’s coach, saying “Your boy has almost no takedown defense or offense off his back.” Adesanya lost a unanimous decision to Jan Blachowicz in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 259 event. Aside from being statistically outstruck on the feet, Adesanya was also dominated on the floor. Blachowicz was able to take his opponent down in the later rounds of the fight, lay on him, and beat him up from the top position. Adesanya, who was tired at that point of the fight from a bigger man laying on top of him, was not able to muster any offense from his back and went on to drop the decision on the judges’ cards.
Coach: Israel Adesanya would've faced Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title next if he beat Jan Blachowicz
Cole Shelton - March 9, 2021
Israel Adesanya had plans to try and become the first-ever three-weight champion in the UFC. According to Adesanya’s coach, Eugene Bareman had Adesanya became a champ-champ on Saturday he would’ve moved up to heavyweight if Miocic defended his belt again.
Jon Jones vs. Israel Adesanya "doesn't really need to happen," says Daniel Cormier
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2021
Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is no longer interested in a potential super fight between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya. Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, and Adesanya the reigning middleweight champion, are two of the fiercest rivals in MMA at present—to the point that a future fight between them seemed almost inevitable.
What's next for the stars of UFC 259?
Cole Shelton - March 8, 2021
On the stacked UFC 259 card, three title fights headlined the event with one title changing hands although it being controversial. In the main event, Jan Blachowicz edged out a decision over middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya to defend his light heavyweight title. The co-main event saw Amanda Nunes submit Megan Anderson to defend her featherweight. In the first of three title fights, Aljamain Sterling became the new bantamweight champion after Petr Yan threw an illegal knee and was disqualified.
Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya have entertaining miscommunication after fight (video)
Tom Taylor - March 8, 2021
Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya had an entertaining miscommunication in moments immediately following their fight. Blachowicz and Adesanya met in the main event of Saturday’s stacked UFC 259 card. Blachowicz sought to defend the light heavyweight title, while Adesanya, the promotion’s middleweight champion, looked to become a two-division champion.
Dana White reacts to Jan Blachowicz defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 259
Adam D Martin - March 7, 2021
UFC president Dana White reacted to UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz defeating Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at UFC 259. Blachowicz won a unanimous decision by being the more well-rounded mixed martial artist over Adesanya, who moved up to 205lbs for the first time in his UFC career. Although Adesanya had some success early on with his striking, Blachowicz was the bigger, stronger man, and he had the better cardio, too. The Pole used his striking and grappling in totality to take home the decision and prove to everyone that he’s the best 205lber in the world.
Israel Adesanya putting a potential Jon Jones fight on hold following first career loss at UFC 259
Adam D Martin - March 7, 2021
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is putting a potential Jon Jones fight on hold following his loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. Adesanya lost a unanimous decision to Blachowicz in the main event of UFC 259. The striking battles were closely fought, but Blachowicz utilized his entire mixed martial arts skillset to win the fight. The Pole was able to take Adesanya down and control him on the floor for the last couple of rounds to take home the decision and hand Adesanya his first career defeat. It’s a tough loss for Adesanya, who lost his bid to become a two-division UFC champion, but despite losing to Blachowicz, he is still the UFC middleweight champion.