Israel Adesanya News

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. - July 6, 2025

Israel Adesanya believes Sean Strickland might be going through some things at the moment. Adesanya and Strickland are no strangers to one another inside the Octagon. The two collided back in Sept. 2023. Adesanya was the UFC Middleweight Champion going into the bout and he was a huge betting favorite. Strickland ended up getting the better of “Izzy” for five rounds to pull off the upset unanimous decision victory to become the 185-pound titleholder.

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 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.

Harry Kettle - April 25, 2025

UFC legend Israel Adesanya has said that he’d be interested in training with Jon Jones at some point in the future. As we know, Israel Adesanya is a pretty iconic figure within the world of mixed martial arts. He is one of the most popular fighters of his generation, and he’s one of the most successful middleweight in the history of the sport. Alas, across his last few fights, he’s fallen short in a string of losses that have left many wondering how much longer he’s got left at the elite level.

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 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.

BJ Penn Staff - April 15, 2025

Sean O’Malley has been training with one of the best fighters in MMA history ahead of his UFC 316 rematch with Merab Dvalishvili. UFC 316 goes down on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey. O’Malley will meet Dvalishvili in the main event.

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.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 16, 2025

Roman Dolidze is in search of big names in the UFC middleweight division. Dolidze entered the UFC Vegas 104 main event with a chance at revenge. Back in March 2023, Dolidze was defeated by Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision. It’s a fight Dolidze feels he should’ve won, but the rematch was his chance at vindication. He ended up defeating “The Italian Dream” in a rematch via unanimous decision.

Harry Kettle - March 10, 2025

UFC star Israel Adesanya has given his thoughts on what went down between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Last Saturday night, Alex Pereira failed to successfully defend his UFC light heavyweight championship for the fourth time. Instead, he was beaten by challenger Magomed Ankalaev in what proved to be a pretty competitive fight in Las Vegas. Alas, when it was all said and done, ‘Poatan’ was left without the belt that he’d worked so hard to keep.

Josh Evanoff - March 5, 2025

Israel Adesanya has offered his take on the UFC 313 main event between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. ‘Poatan’ will return to the cage on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Back for the first time since a fourth-round knockout win over Khalil Rountree in October, Alex Pereira will meet the rising Magomed Ankalaev. For his part, the Russian will enter his second UFC title fight riding a staggering 13-fight unbeaten streak.

BJ Penn Staff - February 24, 2025

Joe Rogan has been a staple of UFC broadcasts for decades. During his time with the MMA promotion, he’s been part of some of the most legendary post-fight interviews in the sport’s history. Speaking with fellow comedian Felipe Esparza on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the UFC commentator opened up on his favorite post-fight interview experience.

Josh Evanoff - February 18, 2025

UFC middleweight contender Jared Cannonier wants a rematch with Israel Adesanya. The ‘Killa Gorilla’ is fresh off his return to the cage in the main event of UFC Vegas 102 on Saturday. Back for the first time since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Caio Borralho in August, Jared Cannonier met another rising Brazilian in the form of Gregory Rodrigues. ‘Robocop’ entered the bout riding a three-fight winning streak, last beating Christian Leroy Duncan last July.

Harry Kettle - February 12, 2025

UFC legend Israel Adesanya has explained why he’s now able to be friends with the likes of Alex Pereira and Robert Whittaker. As we know, Israel Adesanya is easily one of the best middleweights of all time. In many ways, he’s one of the most notable fighters to have ever competed in the UFC – and perhaps mixed martial arts as a whole. Nowadays, however, he’s going through a rough patch in the cage, and that much is an understatement.