Israel Adesanya explains how working with a mental health expert helped him gain new perspective on social movements like Black Lives Matter
Israel Adesanya recently spoke about how seeking mental health services during the global lockdown phase because of the COVID-19 pandemic helped him gain a new perspective in life.
This in turn helped him comprehend the bigger picture and revise his stance on socio-political movements like Black Lives Matter. The UFC middleweight champion was at the forefront of the social movement that seeks to highlight the racial prejudice, discrimination, and structural racism that black people face.
The movement gained force and turned into a worldwide phenomenon, particularly after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis.
Israel Adesanya marched in the streets of Auckland on Monday, joining thousands in a Black Lives Matter protest. https://t.co/O22ZNw9UpQ
Israel Adesanya, who's known for giving his take on various issues outside the octagon, spoke in a recent interview on Morning Kombat about his refined approach to things happening in the world, thanks to his "possibility manager":
"I had some personal s**t that I had to deal with, so I did a lot of work on me internally. She [mental health professional] doesn't like to call herself a therapist, she calls herself a possibility manager and yeah, it was cool just to get a lot of tools from her that I can use in my life in perspective."
Furthermore, he added:
"The best one I got from her was, 'Don't react [and] respond.' Example, the George Floyd thing when it happened, it caused the whole world to react. Because what the f**k? You saw a video of a guy getting killed by a cop who's supposed to protect and serve. So it made me react but then eventually now when the BLM, not the movement, the company got started off that. Eventually there was a point when I saw things happening and I was like, 'Let me take a step back and have a look. Let me see.'"
Watch the full interview below:
Israel Adesanya reacts to Alex Pereira mocking his training techniques ahead of UFC 281
At UFC 281, Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will stand across from each other once again, this time inside the UFC octagon. 'The Last Stylebender' wants to undo the mistakes he made in his last two losses to Pereira in kickboxing and looks forward to defending his middleweight throne for the sixth time.
'Poatan' has openly ridiculed Adesanya's unconventional training techniques and constantly reminds his rival of the losses.
Reacting to Pereira's mockery in a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Israel Adesanya stated:
"This is personal. For me, I’ve said less, he can do all the tennis ball videos and f**king hoverboard things he wants, but for me I’m just like, ‘Cool. You do you.’ He has bragging rights, so let him do that, but when it’s time I know something he doesn’t. I can’t tell you.”
Watch the full interview below: