What Do Israel Adesanya’s Tattoos Mean? Broken Native, Deadpool, Naruto & More

Israel Adesanya has a uniquely amazing athletic body. But some of the most striking features of his body aren’t his muscles, but his tattoos. There are numerous inks all over his body, most of which reflect his passion for Japanese anime and superhero comics.

‘Izzy’, besides being a highly skilled kickboxer and martial artist, is also an enthusiast of art and entertainment. But not many people know about Adesanya’s artistic love, which he has inked on his body. Before the two-time middleweight king takes the Octagon against Nassourdine Imavov on Saturday at UFC Saudi Arabia, let us take a look at the meanings behind his tattoos.

Meaning behind Israel Adesanya’s ‘Broken Native’ Tattoo

The former two-time middleweight champion previously stated that he has consistently felt like an outsider throughout the entirety of his existence. As a result, he decided to permanently mark his chest with the ‘Broken Native’ tattoo. Besides, it was his first tattoo, which he got when he was just 22 years old.

The tattoo is written in bold capital letters which acts as a reminder for ‘The Last Stylebender’ about his past and present. It signifies the evolution from the person he was to the person he is today. It stems from the fact that he was heavily bullied during his younger years, which inspired him to become a martial artist. But do you know about Adesanya’s face tattoo?

What does Israel Adesanya’s face tattoo say?

Most UFC fans know about the rivalry between Adesanya and former champion Alex Pereira. Both fought each other in two combat sports disciplines – Kickboxing and MMA. Incidentally, Pereira was also the one who handed Adesanya his first loss in the UFC’s middleweight division. This led him to get a new tattoo.

In January 2023, ‘The Last Stylebender’ got a new tattoo inscribed with the word ‘Dragon’ in the Arabic script, which was positioned directly above his right eyebrow. He drew the inspiration for this tattoo from the anime character ‘Gaara’ from the popular series ‘Naruto’ who is also portrayed as having a similar tattoo on his forehead above his eyebrow. But the dragon isn’t the only ink that Adesanya got from anime.

Naruto and Airbender: Anime characters who inspired Adesanya’s tattoos

‘The Last Stylebender’ has been vocal about his love for animated shows and characters. As such, he got a tattoo in 2017, inspired by his two favorite animated shows – ‘Naruto’ and ‘Avatar’. Moreover, during an interview with TMZ, he revealed that his nickname was also inspired by the highly popular ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ animated series.

Similarly, Israel Adesanya has the same tattoo on his stomach as Naruto, which is the ‘Reaper Death Seal’. With that, he has the ‘Yin and Yang’/’Ocean and Moon’ from ‘Avatar’. Adesanya loves things that inspire him. His inspirations do not necessarily come from a real person, but from fictional characters as well. Another such tattoo was extracted from Marvel Comics.

A quirky Marvel superhero tattooed on Adesanya’s body

On the left side of Adesanya’s ribcage, he has a tattoo of the mischievous Marvel superhero, Deadpool. The red and black costume-donning superhero (or anti-hero) has become a cult favorite among comic book fans. Moreover, the Deadpool franchise has already made millions of dollars with three live-action adaptations. The tattoo of it on Adesanya’s body is a significantly large one, to say the least.

However, the Deadpool tattoo was also the one that Adesanya disliked getting inked on his body. In a video posted by the UFC on its YouTube channel, the middleweight champion mentioned that he did not complete that in one day as it caused him a lot of pain. Adesanya said, “Yeah, that one was the one I regret waiting to get shaded. I should have just done it in one day.” 

Adesanya also inked a tattoo on his neck, which is an image of a dragon. It went hand in hand with the tattoo on his eyebrow. Other than that, ‘Izzy’ has a few more tattoos. It includes a tattoo inspired by cartoonist Bill Watterson on his right bicep, a werewolf tattoo on the inner side of his right arm and a tattoo of the African continent, which had Lagos and Nigeria highlighted in the center of his chest. We will have to wait and see what he gets inked next.

What are your thoughts on the former middleweight champion’s tattoos? Do you wish to get a body ink inspired by anime or Marvel characters? Let us know in the comments down below.