"A legend one day" - Israel Adesanya claims he is "a nobody" until he laps the division
Israel Adesanya recently commented on a post by MMA History Today, where he was tagged as a legend in MMA. The post said Adesanya had etched his name in the history of MMA within a short span of time.
The post read:
"It's crazy to think how fast this guy solidified himself as a legend in MMA. He made his UFC debut in 2018 and has already etched his name in the history books."
Adesanya responded on his Instagram stories:
"Let me lap the division again. Till then, I am nobody. A legend one day."
Israel Adesanya has undoubtedly become one of the most prominent figures in UFC in a short amount of time. He joined the UFC in 2017 and there has been no looking back since then.
In his 2018 debut, 'The Last Stylebender' knocked out Australia's Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221 in Perth, Australia in an outstanding performance.
Since then, he has taken down tough competitors like Derek Brunson and middleweight G.O.A.T Anderson Silva. 'The Last Stylebender' knocked out Robert Whittaker in front of a crowd of 57,125 fans at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne in 2019. With this win, he became the undisputed middleweight king of the UFC.
Two successful title defenses against Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa have solidified his position in the division. He has a perfect record of 20 wins and no losses with 15 knockouts.
Israel Adesanya is reportedly prepared to take on Whittaker at UFC 271
Israel Adesanya is reportedly set to take on Robert Whittaker in an upcoming fight at UFC 271. The match is reported to take place in February next year.
The duo had earlier faced each other at UFC 243 on October 6th, 2019. Adesanya fought the fight as the interim UFC middleweight champion, while Whittaker was the then UFC middleweight champion. 'The Last Stylebender' was quite dominant throughout and eventually won the fight via KO in the second round. The win made him the UFC middleweight champion, a title he holds to this day.
Ever since his win over Whittaker, Israel Adesanya has been dominant in the middleweight division. He has had only one defeat since then. Adesanya's sole loss since then came at the hands of UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in March 2021.
Robert Whittaker, on the other hand, is on a three-fight winning streak following his victories over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker defeated Gastelum via unanimous decision in his most recent fight.
Signature Bobby Knuckles ™️
📺📱 #UFCVegas24: Whittaker vs. Gastelum on ESPN and @UFCFightPass https://t.co/uIaU1MXXrv