"Hey Theo, bad idea" - Israel Adesanya talks about how he is grateful that he found fame after he was matured
Israel Adesanya recently opened up about the level of fame he has achieved since joining the UFC. He expressed his gratitude that it came when he was mature enough to handle it.
'Izzy' gained notoriety through his impressive kickboxing career that included a stint with Glory Kickboxing. There was much hype surrounding his name when the UFC signed him in 2017.
During his appearance on This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von, Adesanya brought up that he achieved fame later in his career rather than at the beginning of it. The former middleweight champion mentioned that it was for the best and likely wouldn't have been ideal for him if he achieved it when he was younger and immature:
"Like, say 25-year-old 'Izzy' with everything that I have now, bad idea. Hey Theo, bad idea...But yeah, I'm glad I found fame later on but still you know, they say be careful what you wish for and I don't regret anything. I'm ready, I'm prepared for this life, but there's levels. There's all these variables you don't expect and I've kind of set myself up now to the point where okay, I've expressed enough." [9:25 - 10:03]
It's refreshing to hear that a star like Israel Adesanya is aware of his success and appears to be able to handle it, which isn't something that a lot of high-profile fighters and athletes are able to do.
Check out the full episode below:
Alex Pereira expresses interest in training with former rival Israel Adesanya
Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya have a well-documented rivalry that began in Glory Kickboxing and culminated with back-to-back UFC middleweight title bouts.
Despite losing their MMA rematch, Pereira has the bragging rights as he won both their kickboxing bouts and one of their MMA bouts. During his recent appearance on The MMA Hour, the reigning light heavyweight champion expressed an interest in possibly training with 'Izzy' if it is certain that they won't be fighting each other again. He said via his translator:
"He thinks that they could both even train together...Israel [Adesanya] is a very experienced guy, Alex [Pereira] is a very experienced guy, similar styles of high level striking, different aspects of the game that one could add to the other."