Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya is a Nigerian-New Zealander professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines.
As a mixed martial artist, he currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Middleweight Champion. In kickboxing, he is a former Glory Middleweight Championship title, challenger.
Adesanya made his professional debut in 2012, with a TKO win against James Griffiths. He scored another TKO win against John Vake, before taking a two-year hiatus from mixed martial arts.
In December 2017, it was announced that Adesanya had signed a contract with the UFC. He made his debut against Rob Wilkinson on 11 February 2018, at UFC 221.[53] He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round.
Adesanya is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in mixed martial arts, both offensively and defensively. As of 23 August 2022, he is #2 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Israel Adesanya Record
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 25 matches | 23 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 15 | 1 |
| By decision | 8 | 1 |
Professional boxing record
| 6 fights | 5 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 4 | 1 |
Israel Adesanya Next Fight
Adesanya is scheduled to face Alex Pereira on 12 November 2022 at UFC 281. He lost via TKO, the first loss in his Middleweight MMA career.
Israel Adesanya Education
Adesanya attended Chrisland School, Opebi, and enrolled in its Taekwondo after-school club until he was removed by his mother due to an injury.
In 1999, he relocated to Ghana with his family for 10 months, but due to his parents wanting their children to receive a well-recognised higher education, he settled in Rotorua, New Zealand, at age 10 and attended Rotorua Boys’ High School.
Adesanya was not interested in sports during high school; instead, he was interested in Japanese anime such as Death Note and the manga series Naruto. Adesanya was bullied during his high school years and attributes the mistreatment he experienced to his decision to pursue martial arts later in life.
Following high school graduation, Adesanya enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Computer Design at the Universal College of Learning in Whanganui. At the age of 18, he started training in kickboxing, after being inspired by the Muay Thai film Ong-Bak.
Adesanya is multilingual. He is fluent in Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin and English.
Israel Adesanya Instagram
Israel Adesanya Instagram is @stylebender.
Israel Adesanya Twitter
Israel Adesanya Twitter is @stylebender.