"Nosebleeds to nosebleeds" - Israel Adesanya celebrates 6 years since attending UFC 193 as a fan to watch Robert Whittaker beat Uriah Hall
Israel Adesanya has truly come a long way since joining the UFC just three years ago. 'The Last Stylebender' made his debut at UFC 221 back in 2018. Since then, there has been no looking back for him. On this day, six years ago, Adesanya attended UFC 193 as a fan.
UFC 193 was the first-ever UFC pay-per-view headlined by a women's fight. The event took place at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Incidentally, former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker fought Uriah Hall on the night. Four years later, the Nigerian-born Kiwi knocked Whittaker out at UFC 243 to capture the middleweight title in the same stadium (now known as Marvel Stadium).
Heading into his upcoming rematch with 'The Reaper', Israel Adesanya took to social media to celebrate his journey from attending UFC 193 as a fan becoming a champion at the same venue.
Nose bleeds to nose bleeds. twitter.com/mmahistorytoda…
Israel Adesanya wants to take on Alex Pereira in a trilogy fight down the line
If he manages to retain the title against Whittaker, Israel Adesanya wants a fresh challenge in the middleweight division and even has a potential opponent in mind. Alex Pereira recently signed with the UFC and made a dream debut by picking up a second-round knockout win over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268.
Pereira happens to be the only fighter to have knocked out Israel Adesanya in a fight. Pereira and Adesanya fought each other twice during their kickboxing days and the Brazilian emerged on top on both occasions. He even put 'The Last Stylebender' to sleep in one of those fights.
For all my casual MMA fans tuning in tomorrow:
One of the many under the radar fights I am most excited about is Alex Pereira vs Andreas Michailidis.
Below is in 2017 when Pereira beat (YES MY FAVORITE FIGHTER on UFC ROSTER) Israel Adesanya for the 2nd time in Glory KB. https://t.co/rZX8fOEsC9
Kickboxing and MMA are very different disciplines, however, and Israel Adesanya is keen to conquer the only man who has managed to knock him out:
"We need something new. Especially after you lap the division again. Good job Pereira, that was nice. One thing I notice is everyone always holds on to that win he has over me like it’s the be all end all. I hope he does well. I hope he does well through the ranks. In the next four fights, I hope to see him. They’ll show you the knockout, but they won’t show you what happened before the finish. I hurt him, but I only throw [hands] because I was infiltrated by other people’s thoughts. But that was when I was younger. Not anymore. It’s different now. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Adesanya said in a video on his YouTube channel.