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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: Israel Adesanya of New Zealand stands in his corner prior to his middleweight bout against Anderson Silva of Brazil during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: Israel Adesanya of New Zealand stands in his corner prior to his middleweight bout against Anderson Silva of Brazil during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019 in the Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
As the UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has dominated the division. His recent win against Robert Whittaker shows the command he has over MMA. However, he thinks that he isn’t a ‘genetic specimen’ like Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman. Instead, according to him, he had to work extremely hard to achieve his goals.
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The fighter has defended his title a few times and looked good while doing so. In a new interview with Sky Sports, ‘The Last Stylebender’ shared his thoughts on African fighters. He also spoke about how Africans could take over MMA.
Adesanya said, “They see us representing on the world stage and realize like ‘man, this isn’t the only way, it is also this way’, you know when you want to excel in sports. … Once they grasp MMA, our people are just different. Like I’m the runt. You look at Francis and Kamaru, they’re built differently to me because they’re the picks of the litter. I’m a runt. I had to work like hard to get to where I’m at.”
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 06: In this handout image provided by UFC, (R-L) Israel Adesanya of Nigeria punches Jan Blachowicz of Poland in their UFC light heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 259 event at UFC APEX on March 06, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“There’s so many of them just literally around. Just literally around, just genetic specimens. So once those guys grasp it, it’s over for the rest of the world.”
With three Africans as champions at the UFC, Adesanya’s words seem quite fair. Ngannou, Usman, and Adesanya seem to be holding tightly onto their thrones.
What’s next for Israel Adesanya?
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After a good victory against Whittaker at UFC 271, Adesanya seems to have his next opponent in mind. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, he revealed that Jared Cannonier is next.
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria poses for a portrait backstage after defeating Robert Whittaker of New Zealand in their UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 243 event at Marvel Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Cannonier too had a smashing win at UFC 271 against Derek Brunson. Hence, it is only right for him to get a shot at the title.
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What do you think about Israel Adesanya saying he is the runt?
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