Israel Adesanya joins NZ Warriors rugby team for special session
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya recently joined the New Zealand Warriors rugby team for a special training session.
The NZ Warriors team is based in Auckland, New Zealand, and plays in the National Rugby League. Moreover, the team happens to be the only team to be based out of Australia in the league.
The official Twitter page of the New Zealand Warriors rugby team took to share a clip of their recent training session, which was joined by Israel Adesanya. While acknowledging Adesanya as MMA and Kiwi sporting royalty, the caption of the post read:
"Privileged to have MMA and Kiwi sporting royalty in the building for today's wrestle session"
Take a look at the post below:
Israel Adesanya is considered to be one of the greatest middleweights in the history of the UFC. 'The Last Stylebender' became a two-time UFC middleweight champion after beating Alex Pereira at UFC 287 earlier this year.
Israel Adesanya will potentially fight at UFC 293 in Sydney
The UFC is set to head back to Sydney, Australia, this September for the UFC 293 pay-per-view. Ever since the event was announced, speculation of the card being headlined by Israel Adesanya has started to rise.
Dana White was recently asked to comment on it at the post-fight press conference. MMA journalist Alex Behunin asked whether the winner of the upcoming Dircus du Plessis vs. Robert Whittaker could be made to fight Adesanya in September:
"UFC 293, Sydney [Australia], I'm guessing you're hoping Israel Adesanya headlines that card but with Robert [Whittaker] and Dricus [du Plessis] fighting two months prior at International Fight Week... It's gonna be a quick turnaround for the winner of that fight. Are you kind of thinking about that?"
Dana White failed to reveal too many specifics but clearly has something in mind for Adesanya's next fight, which will likely take place at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.
Replying to what Behunin asked, White mentioned that there will be an announcement regarding the middleweight champion soon. He said:
"We'll make that announcement soon."
Take a look at the clip below:
Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis are set to lock horns at UFC 290. The fight is set to be a UFC middleweight title eliminator with the winner getting an opportunity to fight 'The Last Stylebender' for the middleweight championship.