5 times Israel Adesanya feuded with other middleweights
Israel Adesanya has quickly entrenched himself as one of the most memorable champions in UFC history. Whether he's generating controversy outside the cage or dazzling fans across global arenas with flashy knockouts, 'The Last Stylebender' is one of the biggest stars in the sport.
Part of that stardom, however, can be credited to how often the Nigerian-born New Zealander feuds with his opponents. Whether he is bothered by a foe's antics on social media or responds in a vitriolic fashion to any actual or perceived slights, he rarely has bouts where he doesn't have some enmity for his opponent.
This has been the case with most of his past bouts, even in minor cases, such as his past matchup with Marvin Vettori. So, with all of this in mind, this list goes over the five times Israel Adesanya feuded with his opponent.
#5. Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker
In mid-2019, Israel Adesanya was fresh off a thrilling five-round war with Kelvin Gastelum that crowned him as the UFC interim middleweight champion. The win earned him a unification bout with the then reigning divisional kingpin Robert Whittaker, a well-mannered fighter who doesn't get into spats with others.
However, before their first bout at UFC 243, Whittaker soon learned that Adesanya is surprisingly easy to upset. He posted a side-by-side picture of the Grim Reaper and Bender from Futurama on his Instagram account, pointing to his nickname 'The Reaper' and Adesanya's nickname 'The Last Stylebender'.
“Let’s not talk too much about Israel because I think he’s a piece of sh*t. He’s just a sh*t person."
Robert Whittaker isn't shy in expressing his dislike for Israel Adesanya as he sounds off on the UFC middleweight champion on a recent episode of "The Howie Games".
#UFC #MMA https://t.co/DU7lxt6P9N
This, however, was enough to send Adesanya over the edge, who, at the pre-fight press conference, accused Whittaker of insulting him and took shots at him for his inactivity and withdrawals from fights due to illness. He even claimed Whittaker wasn't a real Kiwi due to living in Australia over New Zealand.
While Adesanya was ultimately victorious at UFC 243, the two men never entirely resolved their issues, with 'The Reaper' referring to his rival in less than flattering terms at one point.
#4. Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa
It's strange to imagine that there was a time when Paulo Costa was a legitimate title contender. Between 2019 and 2020, 'Borrachinha' did everything to earn a title fight, including antagonizing Israel Adesanya at every turn. He frequently scoffed at the champion for his thin build, referring to him as skinny.
Costa also took aim at Adesanya's mobile fighting style and footwork, accusing him of avoiding striking engagements by labeling him 'Runnersanya'. Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya taunted his foe by describing him as a Ricky Martin wannabe due to a perceived resemblance between the singer and Paulo Costa.
THE BEEF IS REAL 😤
Things get personal as Costa taunts Adesanya with a white belt at weigh-ins.
[ #UFC253 - LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: bit.ly/2ZWMt22 ] https://t.co/axIHv9vhsh
Costa mocked Adesanya's earrings at their pre-fight press conference when a reporter asked him what he thought of them. He claimed that his mother had a similar pair of earrings, to which Israel Adesanya barked that Paulo Costa merely wished his mother did.
'Borrachinha' even threw a Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belt at him, taunting him for his perceived low-level grappling skills. When the two men finally fought, Adesanya was dominant, KO'ing him in the second round before humping a dazed Costa in one of the most humiliating post-fight celebrations in MMA history.
#3. Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland
It's hard to tell where reality begins, and fiction ends with Sean Strickland. The American has done everything in his power to create the most outlandish character possible to draw interest, and he used that character to maximum effect against Adesanya at the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference.
He was scheduled to fight Alex Pereira but constantly attacked Israel Adesanya. He mocked him for being an adult who watches sexually explicit anime, taunted him for being a man in his thirties doing TikTok dances when Adesanya swore to do one over his grave, and took aim at his past losses to Pereira.
Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya get heated at the #UFC276 press conference 🔥 https://t.co/8YGy7Bw8r1
When Adesanya tried to launch any verbal retorts about Pereira knocking Strickland out, which turned out to be an accurate prediction, 'Tarzan' merely responded by asking Adesanya to tell him what not to do given that he was knocked out by the Brazilian in one of their past kickboxing bouts.
The two men barked at each other on stage, and there's been a feud between them ever since, as no one has ever rattled Adesanya quite like Strickland did.
#2. Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira
While both men seem to have patched things up, one of Israel Adesanya's most well-known feuds stems from his competitive rivalry with Alex Pereira. The pair first crossed swords during their days as kickboxers, with 'Poatan' emerging victorious in their first outing.
Yet, it was controversial as Adesanya felt he'd done enough to win. So by the time of their rematch, heated emotions and trash talk were involved. Despite a solid start to the rematch, Adesanya was knocked out cold and even mocked by Pereira's young son, who fell to the canvas, imitating an unconscious Adesanya.
“…and I took that personally.” - Michael Jordan. twitter.com/bball_enjoyer/…
The two encountered one another years later in the UFC, where Pereira defeated 'The Last Stylebender' for a third time, TKO'ing him to capture the middleweight title. This led to their fourth clash, with Pereira poking fun at Adesanya's love for anime during the leadup.
Unfortunately for him, he lost the title to Adesanya via brutal knockout this year to close out their rivalry, but not before Adesanya mocked Pereira's son for his past celebration.
#1. Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis
Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis have not yet fought, but all signs point to their clash being the next title fight at middleweight. The issues between the two were first stirred by the South African when he took exception to Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman being referred to as African champions.
According to du Plessis, he was the most vital representative of African MMA as he was born in, lives in, and trains in South Africa. However, his statements were controversial, and Adesanya felt that his divisional rival was questioning his Africanness. At this point, he expressed a desire to fight him.
Israel Adesanya goes off on Dricus Du Plessis and tells him to take a DNA test to prove he's African. 😳
https://t.co/HtrcTVLRfs
Du Plessis, however, needed to work his way up the rankings, which he now has, culminating with an impressive TKO win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 this past Saturday. This led to Israel Adesanya storming into the cage for a face-off, unleashing a vitriolic tirade, referring to du Plessis by the N-word.
Now, with the two set to face each other, the buildup to their bout should be explosive.