Israel Adesanya News

Yoel Romero takes post-fight dig at Israel Adesanya, proclaims himself the 'people's champ'
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2020
Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya’s UFC 248 middleweight title fight failed to live up to expectations, and both fighters seem to agree it’s because the other was afraid. Romero suggested exactly that on Twitter on Monday morning, sharing a heavily edited screenshot of the Wikipedia entry for the word “fear.”

Israel Adesanya feels he proved Yoel Romero isn't 'made of steel'
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2020
Israel Adesanya believes that he proved Yoel Romero isn’t “made of steel” at UFC 248. Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, defended his title against Romero in the card’s main event, winning a controversial and undeniably slow decision over the Cuban.

Photo: Check out the judges scorecards for Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero
Adam D Martin - March 8, 2020
The judges’ scorecards for the UFC 248 main event between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero tell the story of a close, but clear decision win for the champ. Not much happened for 25 minutes between Adesanya and Romero. Both men were very timid for the five rounds, with few strikes being thrown. Ultimately, though, the judges felt that Adesanya did more and gave him the decision nod. That being said, no one really knew how they would score it before the official scorecards were read.

Israel Adesanya throws shade at Yoel Romero, praises Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Adam D Martin - March 8, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya threw shade at Yoel Romero after their UFC 248 main event, while praising Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Adesanya and Romero met in a highly-anticipated main event for the middleweight belt, but the fight turned out to be anything but. Very few strikes were thrown during the 25-minute affair, but ultimately the judges did find the champion to be the more effective fighter and awarded him a unanimous decision victory to retain his title.

Israel Adesanya opens up on experiences with racism
Tom Taylor - March 6, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is no stranger to racism, and says it exists everywhere. Adesanya shared his thoughts on racism in a recent interview with MMA Fighting.

Michael Bisping: 'I'd take the belt off Israel Adesanya pretty easily' if I was still fighting
Mike Pendleton - March 6, 2020
In the main event of this weekend’s UFC 248, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will look to defend his title for the first time after he claimed the undisputed championship from former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 last October. As Adesanya prepares for his first title defense against Yoel Romero, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who is now retired, believes he’d be able to beat Adesanya if he was still fighting. During an interview with MMA Tonight on Sirius XM, Bisping was asked about the upcoming main event title fight. While he praised both Adesanya and challenger Yoel Romero, Bisping said if he was still actively fighting, he’d be able to take the belt off Adesanya “pretty easily”.

Israel Adesanya wants to get to Paulo Costa 'before USADA does'
Tom Taylor - March 5, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes top contender Paulo Costa will inevitably get busted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and wants to get to the Brazilian before that happens. Costa, who is a perfect 13-0 as a pro, cemented himself as the middleweight division’s top contender last August when he defeated Yoel Romero with a close decision win. Unfortunately, he then sustained a bicep injury which kept him on the sidelines, while Romero was granted the next shot at Adesanya.

Israel Adesanya explains why he's well-prepared to deal with superstardom
Tom Taylor - March 5, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is already a big star, but the expectation is that could become a downright superstar for the promotion. Superstardom, of course, comes with some unique pressure.

Dana White discusses star power of Israel Adesanya, Weili Zhang
Tom Taylor - March 4, 2020
UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang and UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya come from different worlds, but the two fighters definitely have one notable thing in common: they both have the potential to become massive stars for the UFC. At least, that’s what Dana White thinks. White commented on Zhang and Adesanya’s potential superstardom ahead of UFC 248 in Las Vegas, where the former will defend her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and the latter will defend his belt against Yoel Romero.

Yoel Romero provides weight update for UFC 248 title fight with Israel Adesanya
Harry Kettle - March 3, 2020
Yoel Romero has provided an update as to how much weight he still has left to cut ahead of his UFC 248 title fight against Israel Adesanya this weekend. Romero is set for the opportunity of a lifetime on Saturday night as he attempts to take the UFC Middleweight Championship away from “The Last Stylebender”. Alas, while many fans are focused on the fight itself, many are wondering whether or not the “Soldier of God” will even be able to get to that point.

Israel Adesanya explains why he doesn’t fear 'boogeyman' Yoel Romero
Harry Kettle - March 2, 2020
Israel Adesanya has explained why he doesn’t fear the “boogeyman” Yoel Romero ahead of their UFC 248 clash in Las Vegas this weekend. Adesanya is set to compete for the first time since UFC 243 where he successfully unified the UFC Middleweight Championship with a resounding victory over Robert Whittaker. He’ll be going up against Romero, who has lost three of his last four fights, but is still consider a dangerous challenge for the champ.

Video | Israel Adesanya appears to be dealing with an arm issue ahead of UFC 248
Adam D Martin - March 1, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya appears to be dealing with some sort of issue with his arm in a new video released in the days before UFC 248. In an interview with Combat TV, Adesanya appears to have some sort of bump on his left arm. Immediately, fans in the comments section already threw out the possibility of staph infection, though at this point that is just speculation.

Israel Adesanya issues apology for controversial “twin towers” comment
Christopher Taylor - February 23, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has issued an apology for his controversial comment involving the twin towers. During the UFC 248 press conference call, ‘Stylebender’ suggested that he would make his next opponent Yoel Romero crumble like the “twin towers” next month in Las Vegas.

Paulo Costa slams Israel Adesanya for using 9/11 reference in trash talk
Chris Taylor - February 22, 2020
Paulo Costa has unloaded on reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for his questionable 9/11 remark at the UFC 248 press conference. At Friday’s press conference in Las Vegas, ‘Stylebender’ raised eyebrows when he stated that he would make his UFC 248 opponent Yoel Romero “crumble like the twin towers”.

Coach: Israel Adesanya will 'definitely look to move and challenge Stipe' in the future
Tom Taylor - February 17, 2020
ofOver the last few months, much has been made of a potential super fight between UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Adesanya is seemingly all for this matchup with the heavier man — and that’s not where his inter-divisional ambition ends either. Speaking to Submission Radio recently, Adesanya’s head coach Eugene bareman claimed the middleweight champ is legitimately interested in climbing all the way to heavyweight to challenge the champ Stipe Miocic in the future.

VIDEO | Israel Adesanya delivers impassioned speech after winning New Zealand Sportsman of the Year award
Tom Taylor - February 13, 2020
This week, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya received a massive honor in his homeland, winning the award for New Zealand Sportsman of the Year. In victory, Adesanya delivered a lengthy and impassioned speech. Suffice it to say the man is good behind the mic.

Israel Adesanya says Jon Jones is 'washed up' after UFC 247 performance
Cole Shelton - February 10, 2020
Israel Adesanya was not impressed by Jon Jones’ performance at UFC 247. In the main event of UFC 247, Jones edged out a decision win over Dominick Reyes, in a bout many fighters and fans thought the challenger had won. It was a close fight and for the second fight in a row, many thought “Bones” should have lost his title.

Israel Adesanya reacts to Jon Jones defeating Dominick Reyes at UFC 247
Christopher Taylor - February 8, 2020
Israel Adesanya was clearly keeping an eye on tonight’s UFC 247 main event between Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes. Reyes, now 12-1 in MMA, was challenging Jones for the promotions coveted light heavyweight title in the headliner of tonight’s pay-per-view event in Houston.