Israel Adesanya News

Curtis Calhoun - October 2, 2025

Alex Pereira’s four-time combat sports rival, Israel Adesanya, predicts the Brazilian will dethrone Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 320. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will look for revenge this weekend when he takes on newly minted light heavyweight titleholder Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 320 main event. Their rematch comes just months after Ankalaev ended Pereira’s unbeaten light heavyweight run, defeating Pereira by unanimous decision to secure the title.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 28, 2025

Israel Adesanya is no longer seeking a rematch with an unexpected rival. Fans won’t soon forget one of the biggest upsets in combat sports history back in Sept. 2023. Adesanya put the UFC Middleweight Championship at stake against Sean Strickland. “The Last Stylebender” had no answer for the relentless pressure of Strickland, and he dropped the 185-pound title via unanimous decision.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 21, 2025

Israel Adesanya won’t be hanging up his gloves imminently. Adesanya has earned his share of accomplishments throughout his fighting career. The former Glory Kickboxing star made a seamless transition to MMA, and he captured the UFC Middleweight Championship twice. While Adesanya enjoyed his time ruling the roost at 185 pounds, he now finds himself in unfamiliar territory with three straight losses.

Harry Kettle - September 8, 2025

Israel Adesanya has given his thoughts on how a showdown between Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov could go. Last Saturday night, Nassourdine Imavov was pretty dominant in his UFC Paris main event against Caio Borralho. He was able to control the fight both on the feet and, really, on the ground. He proved himself to be one of the top middleweight contenders out there and as a result, he is now one of the first names in line for a potential shot at Khamzat Chimaev’s world title.

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2025

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was surprised by how the UFC 319 main event played out. In the main event of the pay-per-view card on Saturday, Dricus Du Plessis was looking to defend his middleweight title for the third time when he took on Khamzat Chimaev. However, Chimaev dominated Du Plessis in all five rounds, as he got the champ down early and was able to control him and dominate him on the ground for a lopsided decision win.

Harry Kettle - August 15, 2025

UFC star Israel Adesanya has given his prediction for this weekend’s title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. Tomorrow night, Dricus du Plessis will defend the UFC middleweight championship against Khamzat Chimaev. The two will collide in their highly anticipated UFC 319 main event, and right now, it’s pretty hard to say which way it’s going to go. Everyone is bound to view this fight differently but given what we know about both men, all we can really expect is that it’s going to be an incredibly fun fight.

Harry Kettle - July 21, 2025

Israel Adesanya has some rare praise for former rival Paulo Costa following the latter’s win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318. On Saturday night at UFC 318, Paulo Costa was able to get himself back in the win column. He did so against Roman Kopylov and while it was a competitive fight in certain areas, the Brazilian star was able to prove that he’s still more than capable of mixing it up with those residing in the top 15 of the middleweight division.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2025

Israel Adesanya doesn’t agree with those who try to discredit Dustin Poirier’s career. Poirier is set to enter the Octagon for the final time as a competitor on Saturday. He will collide with familiar foe Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 318 in New Orleans. For Poirier, it’s a chance to leave pro MMA competition with a third win over “Blessed.”

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 27, 2025

Israel Adesanya has made his pick for the UFC 317 main event between Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria. Oliveira and Topuria will be competing for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship on Saturday. The two will do battle inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Once the fight begins, Islam Makhachev will officially vacate the 155-pound gold.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 16, 2025

Israel Adesanya is not a fan of one well-known UFC welterweight. This past Saturday, Kamaru Usman stepped inside the Octagon for the first time since Oct. 2023. After healing from nagging injuries, “The Nigerian Nightmare” faced Joaquin Buckley. Ahead of the UFC Atlanta main event, many felt that this would be another case of the old guard being phased out. Instead, Usman’s grappling gave “New Mansa” significant problems. While Buckley was dangerous in the final round, it wasn’t enough. Usman scored the unanimous decision victory.

Harry Kettle - May 30, 2025

UFC star Israel Adesanya has given his thoughts on a potential rematch between former foe Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. As we know, Alex Pereira is one of the most exciting fighters in all of mixed martial arts. He’s an incredible athlete and has accomplished some great things, but one thing that he’s perhaps known for best is his rivalry with Israel Adesanya. He currently holds a 3-1 lead over ‘Stylebender’ and hopefully, some day, we get to see them run it back once again.

Harry Kettle - May 19, 2025

Kelvin Gastelum has reflected on his iconic fight against Israel Adesanya ahead of his upcoming UFC Hall of Fame induction. At UFC 316, Kelvin Gastelum will make his return to the cage when he battles rising prospect Joe Pyfer. In the eyes of many, this is a great opportunity for Pyfer to reach the next level in his pursuit of UFC gold – whereas the popular belief is that Kelvin is now playing the role of ‘gatekeeper’ for many of these young prospects.

BJ Penn Staff - April 24, 2025

Israel Adesanya waited a long time to beat Alex Pereira. As it turns out, his training camp for his long-awaited UFC win over the Brazilian included an interesting detail: psychedelic mushrooms. Adesanya finally beat Pereira at UFC 287 in 2023. It was his fourth fight with the fearsome Brazilian, and he had lost each previous encounter. Their first two fights were contested under kickboxing rules, and their third was in the UFC. Pereira won the first by decision, and the second and third with brutal knockouts.

BJ Penn Staff - April 24, 2025

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have one of the most legendary rivalries in combat sports history. Former UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman believes that rivalry needs to continue. Adesanya and Pereira began their rivalry in the kickboxing ring. They first met under the Glory of Heroes banner in Shenzhen, China in 2016. Brazil’s Pereira won that first encounter, defeating the Nigerian-born Kiwi Adesanya by unanimous decision.

BJ Penn Staff - April 22, 2025

Israel Adesanya has officially informed UFC executives that he is ready to return to action. In fact, he even requested a specific opponent when he spoke to them. Adesanya is one of the greatest middleweights in MMA history — probably the second greatest behind Anderson Silva. However, the recent years of his career after bumpy. First, he lost the middleweight title to Alex Pereira. While he reclaimed the belt in their immediate rematch, he then lost it again in the first defense of his second reign, suffering a shocking decision loss to Sean Strickland.

BJ Penn Staff - April 18, 2025

Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman are two of the greatest fighters in UFC history. They also happen to be good friends. Adesanya is the former UFC middleweight champ. Usman is the former champion at welterweight. While Adesanya currently lives in New Zealand, and Usman in the United States, both were born in Nigeria, and bonded over their shared heritage during their time as UFC champions.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 10, 2025

Israel Adesanya has made a prediction for one marquee fight on the UFC 314 card, and it’ll be surprising to many fight fans. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday night. Kaseya Center in Miami will play host to the UFC’s fourth pay-per-view of 2025. Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will trade leather for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship. There will also be a lightweight clash between Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire makes his UFC debut against Yair Rodriguez in a pivotal featherweight bout.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 9, 2025

The future of Israel Adesanya inside the Octagon is unclear. Adesanya ruled the roost of the UFC middleweight division twice, but he now finds himself on a three-fight skid. He lost back-to-back title fights against Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis. “The Last Stylebender” was then stopped by Nassourdine Imavov in Saudi Arabia.