Israel Adesanya talks about the time he ignored his father's financial advice
Israel Adesanya recently revisited a time when he stubbornly ignored his father's financial advice. In an edition of First We Feast's Hot Ones, Adesanya alluded to the fact that he'd extensively competed as a kickboxer in China before returning home to New Zealand.
'The Last Stylebender' suggested that upon his return, his father, Oluwafemi, advised him to purchase a house using the money he'd earned. Despite his father being an accountant by profession, Adesanya chose to ignore his financial advice.
Israel Adesanya honored his father, Oluwafemi, by wearing his Dadesanya shirt to the #UFC259 press conference. https://t.co/tJiOQJhVG3
Hot Ones host Sean Evans spoke to Israel Adesanya and noted that not many high-income athletes have the benefit of being raised by a parent who's an accountant. When asked what the best piece of financial advice he received from his father was, Adesanya stated:
"When I came back from China, he tried to get me to get a house. I'm like, 'Oh, I don't want the responsibility of owning a house... I'm too young.' Stupid. Lost a lot of money."
He added:
"Eventually, when I got into the UFC, I was like, 'Every time I don't listen to this man about money, I end up going broke. I should probably listen to this man.' I listen to my gut as well." Adesanya added, "Yeah, I listen to him when it comes to money because he knows how money works."
Catch Israel Adesanya's comments (14:45) below:
When Israel Adesanya's father correctly predicted the outcome of his son's fight against Robert Whittaker
Israel Adesanya's father, Oluwafemi, spoke to the Submission Radio YouTube channel before his son's UFC middleweight title unification matchup against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in October 2019. During the interview, Oluwafemi rightly predicted that his son would dominantly defeat Whittaker.
Oluwafemi claimed that 'The Reaper' had primarily fought wrestlers in his career. Furthermore, he referenced Robert Whittaker's first-round TKO loss against Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, highlighting that Whittaker lost to the only elite striker he'd faced. citing Adesanya's incredible kickboxing record and striking experience, Oluwafemi explained:
"Robert is one-dimensional and, unfortunately, people think he's very fast. He's not as fast as Anderson Silva. All the people that he has fought and he did very well against, they are all wrestlers, from [Yoel] Romero, 'Jacare' [Souza], [Derek] Brunson, [Brad] Tavares."
Watch Oluwafemi's assessment below:
As predicted by Oluwafemi, Israel Adesanya beat Robert Whittaker via second-round KO at UFC 243. Adesanya bested Whittaker again, this time via unanimous decision at UFC 271 in February 2022.
However, Adesanya lost his UFC middleweight title earlier this month at UFC 281, as he suffered a fifth-round TKO loss against Alex Pereira. It's widely expected that 'The Last Stylebender' will face Pereira in a title rematch in 2023.