Who Is Israel Adesanya’s Mother Taiwo? Why Did the UFC Star Get Emotional Over His Family and Parents?

For us, UFC fighters are legendary individuals who are brave enough to endure the pain inside the cage to fulfill their dreams. What about their parents? The ones who raised them saw them as a child crying when they fell and got hurt. It pains them to see their child fighting and yet they are proud of their achievements. For the fighters too, it’s not just about winning but honoring their legacy and family. Israel Adesanya knows the feeling of making his parents proud and the 24-4 middleweight star knows how hard his parents have worked to raise him.

It was evident by the tears he shed during the UFC 305 press conference. His mother who is a nurse gave everything she had to give him a good life. Even though he was from a pretty wealthy family background and had a pleasant childhood, it came at the price of his parents working extremely hard.

All about Israel Adesanya’s mother and family

‘Izzy’ was born on July 22, 1989. In Lagos Nigeria to Taiwo Adesanya, who is a nurse, and Femi Adesanya, an accountant. He has four other siblings and is the eldest child. Ever since he was a kid he loved Taekwondo. His mother, however, decided to halt his Taekwondo training after he splintered his arm. As per his accounts, Adesanya had a smooth childhood back in Nigeria with even two house helps assisting him when he was a kid.

It was the year 1999 when he and his family moved to Ghana for 10 months and the stay was not that long. His parents always wanted all five children to get the best education and lifestyle and worked extremely hard towards that goal. This is the reason the whole family moved to New Zealand when Adesanya was 10. However, he was always interested in MMA and was never keen on academics.

Thankfully, with the support of his parents, he could pursue his dream and now his parents are present during most of his fights.  Adesanya never fails to acknowledge the sacrifices that his mother and father made to make him successful. He even shared his love for his parents with fans via X and uploaded a post about gifting a Bently to his father. He once took to his X account and posted about presenting his father a $200,000 Bentley. Adesanya wrote, “Upgraded my pops cuz he the realest on my team!. I don’t wait for my loved ones to pass on before I give them their (bouquet image).” 

When it comes to his mother, their relationship is filled with warmth and love. He has never shied away from showing his vulnerable side in front of his mother, even if there were cameras.

Israel Adesanya’s relationship with his mother

Adesanya not only shows adoration through gifts but also through emotions. He gifted his mother a Porsche but that was not all. After the press conference at UFC 305 when Dricus Du Plessis accused ‘Izzy’ of being rich and having servants, the latter cried thinking about the sacrifices his parents had made. He then went to his mother and hugged her tightly promising to redeem their honour.

The fans have also witnessed the firm behavior of his mother towards him. It is so humbling to see a former two-time UFC middleweight champ quietly enduring the scoldings of his mom! Don’t know the incident we are talking about? Well, remember the 2018 UFC Adelaide event when ‘Izzy’ was matched up with Anderson Silva? That was the day he got scolded by his mom.

Why? In the midst of being excited, he celebrated by doing a ‘shoey’ in front of the crowd. ‘The Last Stylebender’ later shared screenshots of messages from his mother scolding him for the stunt! She said, “Son, for God’s sake, please DON’T DO THIS AGAIN! You have a sensitive tummy, I know it is your shoe but not healthy.”

She also reminded him to be his authentic self and not adopt bad habits from others. Izzy replied, “Was my shoe? I’m okay, Momzilla xo.” So, the only person who can ground him is his mom. Do you think he would remember the lessons taught by his parents before the fight against Nassirousine Imavov on February 1? Will he climb to the top again? Share your thoughts in the comments below.