Israel Adesanya News

Tom Taylor - April 13, 2020

Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya did not hold back in their latest social media skirmish. The pair, who are the UFC light heavyweight and middleweight champs respectively, went at it on Sunday night — and nothing was off limits. The back-and-forth began when Adesanya poked Jones, recycling a line Jones famously used on Daniel Cormier several years ago.

Adam Martin - April 12, 2020

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya talked smack to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones on Twitter, calling him a “p*ssy.” We all know there’s no love lost between Adesanya and Jones. The two champions have engaged in verbal sparring ever since Adesanya won the middleweight title from Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 last October. Adesanya has guaranteed that he’ll eventually meet Jones inside the Octagon, though Jones so far has brushed off all of Adesanya’s previous callouts in the past.

Natasha Hooper - April 8, 2020

Israel Adesanya has given props to UFC president Dana White for pushing forward with fights despite the coronavirus pandemic. The middleweight champion joined Ariel Helwani this week to discuss the updated UFC 249 card. The event is scheduled to take place on April 18, but has undergone major changes in the wake of COVID-19. Khabib Nurmagomedov is out of the main event and has been replaced by Justin Gaethje. He will fight Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title and a new fight card has been announced. According to The New York Times, the event has also been moved to Tribal Land in California.

Tom Taylor - April 8, 2020

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has made no secret of his disdain for UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. Given the pair’s animosity toward one another, it should come as no surprise that Adesanya has some thoughts on Jones’ recent DWI arrest. Adesanya’s first reactions to Jones’ arrest came in the form of a few memes, but he claims to have measured his public response to the story because he didn’t want to violate his “code.”

Natasha Hooper - March 27, 2020

Darren Till recently explained why he will be the perfect challenge for middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. The British UFC fighter joined the middleweight ranks in 2019 after two devastating defeats in the welterweight division. In his 185-pound debut, “The Gorilla” claimed a split decision victory after a hard-fought battle against Kelvin Gastelum.

Tom Taylor - March 24, 2020

Some fight fans are disappointed by a recent coronavirus-related Twitter post from UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Speaking on Twitter on Tuesday, Adesanya divulged that he’s enjoying the isolation brought on by the pandemic. While the champ’s comment was likely not intended to offend, it ruffled the feathers of many commenters who noted that the virus has claimed thousands of lives and is affecting millions of people worldwide.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2020

Gegard Mousasi believes he would have success against Israel Adesanya if they were to fight. Mousasi, who is the former Bellator middleweight champion, says he has sparred with people who fought Adesanya in Glory Kickboxing, which is why he thinks he’d have success.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2020

Darren Till says he and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya “speak every day” — despite the fact they could end up colliding in the Octagon in the near future. Speaking on MMAFighting.com’s Eurobash podcast recently, Till was asked if he had heard Adesanya call him a “p**sy” for jesting that he is afraid to fight Yoel Romero.

Adam Martin - March 10, 2020

The online sportsbooks first released the odds for Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa last year, and now we have an update on them. After defeating Yoel Romero at UFC 241, Costa was expected to be next in line to fight Adesanya after he unified the middleweight titles against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. At the time of the original fight announcement, the sportbooks released the odds for the bout, with Adesanya opening as a -140 betting favorite and Costa being a +100 underdog.

Adam Martin - March 9, 2020

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has slammed contender Yoel Romero for a poor performance in their title fight at UFC 248. Adesanya and Romero put on one of the worst title fights in UFC history as both men refused to engage with each other and each showed a shocking lack of aggressiveness in the bout. The fight went the full five-round distance, with Adesanya slightly outpointing Romero to retain his title by unanimous decision in a fight MMA fans found boring to watch.

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.”

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.

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.

Natasha Hooper - March 8, 2020

Dana White has reacted to tonight’s UFC 248 main event title fight between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero. In the highly anticipated headliner, “The Last Stylebender” defended his belt for the first time against the division’s “boogeyman”, Yoel Romero. “The Soldier of God” was riding a two-fight losing streak prior, and suffered a similar fate in his Adesanya showdown.

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.

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”.

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.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2020

Judging is a hot-button issue in MMA of late, and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has a suggestion that he believes could help mitigate the problem. MMA is scored using the 10 point must system. The winner of each round receives 10 points—unless there’s a point deduction—while the user receives 9 or less. That said, we really see a disparity greater than 10-9. 10-8 rounds are a real rarity. A 10-7 round is unheard of.