"Made me kinda like him a little bit more" - Israel Adesanya reveals how Dustin Poirier won him over with trash talk
Israel Adesanya recently shared how Dustin Poirier's mastery of trash talk left a lasting impression on him.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, the former middleweight champion dissected the UFC 299 fight card. While analyzing the co-main event featuring Poirier and Benoit Saint-Denis, Adesanya recounted a memorable anecdote from a past encounter with 'The Diamond' during the preparations for their respective fights against Kelvin Gastelum and Max Holloway at UFC 236 in April 2019.
'The Last Stylebender' mentioned that prior to their meeting, he wasn't particularly fond of the former 'BMF' title challenger. However, Poirier's wit during their interaction made a significant impact on him:
"I wouldn't say I was, like, a big Dustin Poirier fan, but then we cut weight at the same time when I fought Gastelum, and he fought Max Holloway. I always thought he was a square guy, like real squeaky clean cuz that's how he kind of presented himself, but the jokes he was making in the sauna... When you're cutting weight, and you're dehydrated, you be saying some sh*t, so for me, that made me kind of like him a little bit more."
Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below (11:30):
Both Adesanya and Poirier emerged victorious in their respective fights at UFC 236 after hard-fought battles that ended in unanimous decisions. As a result, they were both honored with the Fight of the Night award.
Israel Adesanya explains decision to abstain predicting Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera
During the same analysis video for UFC 299, Israel Adesanya refused to predict the winner for the headliner, featuring a rematch between bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera.
'The Last Stylebender' explained that his decision stems from his respectful relationship with both fighters. Additionally, he mentioned that he shares a stronger bond with Vera:
"I'm not going to pick just because I think they will sort it out themselves. And again, I love 'Chito' as a person. We have history, like, deeper than that."
Adesanya added:
"Whenever I've met him [Vera], he's always cool, and so was Sean. They always show respect. They're fans of me, and they appreciate me as a person. So, for me, I feel like it'd be a disservice to try and pick one to win. It's not my fight. It's their fight. So, yeah, you guys can roll the dice on that one. May the best man win. I wish both guys the best in this fight. And hopefully, they come out unscathed." [18:17]