Israel Adesanya 'only athlete in the sport' to give fans three different forms of entertainment, claims Chael Sonnen
Israel Adesanya is well-known for his unique walk-outs to the octagon, his mesmerizing fighting style, and his fiery post-fight speeches. In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen addressed the same and showered praise on 'The Last Stylebender' for being such a committed entertainer.
‘Izzy’ is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on July 2. Adesanya paid homage to WWE legend, The Undertaker at UFC 276 by walking out to his WWE theme song and emulating his iconic walk-out/entrance.
BAH GAWD THAT'S THE UNDERTAKER'S MUSIC! 💀
@stylebender with another EPIC walkout! 🤌
#UFC276 https://t.co/aXXUp4v4lg
The UFC megastar donned the legendary Undertaker hat, held an urn, and even mimicked The Undertaker’s slow walking style. Sonnen highlighted this and lauded Adesanya for giving fans much more than what they pay for:
“You have three ways that you can entertain. And first and foremost, you are an entertainer. You are on television. You gotta walk out. That ain’t gonna be any fun. How would it be? You know the kind of focus that a guy needs to have in his walk-out. That’s not gonna be any fun, but it could.”
“You’ve got the fight. Hell, that’s anybody’s guess. And you have your post-fight speech. Adesanya is the only athlete in the sport who gives you all three. It’s only Adesanya. He will entertain you on the way to the ring.”
#ANDSTILL 👑👑👑
Israel Adesanya is still The King of the middleweights! #UFC276 https://t.co/tPjZiN1pT8
Sonnen insinuated that Adesanya tried his best to put on an entertaining performance against Cannonier. However, since Cannonier was wary of engaging, the fight became a lackluster affair. Furthermore, Sonnen praised Adesanya for his excellent post-fight speech, in which ‘Izzy’ cut a passionate promo and challenged Alex Pereira.
Watch Sonnen discuss the topic at 1:22 of the video below:
Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira - A trilogy grudge match of epic proportions
Alex Pereira beat Israel Adesanya twice in the sport of kickboxing, via unanimous decision in 2016 and via KO in 2017. Adesanya subsequently transitioned to MMA and solidified himself as a dominant UFC middleweight champion.
Regardless, with his thunderous knockout victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 276, Pereira’s believed to have earned the next title shot. ‘Poatan’ has thereby set up a long-awaited trilogy grudge match against Adesanya.
PEREIRA KOs STRICKLAND 🤯🤯🤯🤯
This man looks SO dangerous! #UFC276 https://t.co/5lf1UC6mJK
Intriguingly, the consensus is that elite UFC middleweights such as Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker could beat Pereira as the latter's vulnerable to elite wrestlers.
However, many believe that 'Poatan' is likely a bad stylistic matchup for Israel Adesanya as 'Izzy' seldom utilizes his offensive wrestling inside the octagon. Whether or not Adesanya finds a way to finally beat his archnemesis, Pereira, remains to be seen.
#UFC276Adesanya and Pereira next? Sounds like a good idea!💥 #UFC276 https://t.co/Ri2ZS6tEq7