via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 07: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria celebrates after defeating Yoel Romero of Cuba in their UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 248 event at T-Mobile Arena on March 07, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 07: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria celebrates after defeating Yoel Romero of Cuba in their UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 248 event at T-Mobile Arena on March 07, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya spoke to ‘It’s time for sports’ ahead of his fight against Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title at UFC 259.
The interviewer asked him about the rise of African people in the UFC and the possibility of him fighting Kamaru Usman. “Nah, (I wouldn’t fight) Usman or anyone that I consider a brother,” Adesanya answered. “It’s almost blasphemous.”
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He quoted Caesar from the movie ‘The Planet of the Apes’ and said, “Together we’re strong, divided we fall.”
“Imagine when Francis gets that belt, me, Kamaru, and Francis: three African-born champions holding UFC belts currently, at the same time,” Adesanya proclaimed. “That’s powerful. That image is powerful. That image itself is iconic and historical, and it would do a lot for the people from our continent.”
He also referenced the struggle that their continent of Africa has gone through and said that it felt good to bring the gold back to Africa.
Israel Adesanya and his fighting career
‘The Last Stylebender’ is undefeated in his mixed martial arts career, and last fought Paulo Costa at UFC 253. He knocked Costa out in the second round after an intense first round. This was another dominant display for the champion.
His impressive win streak includes wins over UFC legend Anderson Silva, former champion Robert Whittaker, and fellow middleweight Yoel Romero. In addition to that, he is currently set to fight the newly crowned light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.
Earlier in 2020, Jan beat Dominick Reyes to win the belt after former champion Jon Jones vacated it.
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via Getty
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 10: (R-L) Israel Adesanya of New Zealand taunts Anderson Silva of Brazil in their middleweight bout during the UFC 234 at Rod Laver Arena on February 10, 2019, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
However, Adesanya shares an intense rivalry with Jones. They have gone back and forth on Twitter multiple times. However, in an interview last December, Jones said that the fight didn’t interest him anymore and that Adesanya was scared.
No matter what happens on this front, we have a super fight coming up with Blachowicz vs. Adesanya. If ‘The Stylebender’ continues in this form, we’ll undoubtedly see a new champion.
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Do you think that Adesanya will join the elite few who have been champions in different weight classes?
Read More: VIDEO: Israel Adesanya Just Showed off His Sports Car, and It’s a McLaren
