I struggled with the idea that I don't deserve it - Israel Adesanya reveals why he did not drive his McLaren 720s Spider supercar for a weekÂ
Israel Adesanya has been dominant atop the UFC's middleweight division since becoming the champion in 2019. Despite reaching such heights, 'The Last Stylebender' recently revealed that he once doubted whether he deserved the success he had achieved.
Adesanya recently claimed that he would not park his McLaren 720s Spider supercar in front of his gym to avoid attention. Despite these actions, Adesanya was unsure about showing off his new car.
This planted some doubts in his mind and Adesanya stopped driving the car for a week. According to 'The Last Stylebender', he started believing that other people were more deserving of the luxuries he has access to.
Adesanya recently told Brian J. Roberts:
"And then I didn't drive the car for a week. Just cause I felt bad, cause from what I heard and it was just one person. It was really just one person but it just really hurt my feelings cause I care what that person thinks of me. That hurt my feelings."
He added:
"And like I said, it doesn't have anything to do with me, I recognize that now, it has to do with them. And within a week, I struggle with the idea of like,'Guess I don't deserve it cause a lot of people at the gym work harder than me. They deserve it. They deserve to have millions of dollars and buy nice things and but many houses.'"
Watch Adesanya discuss the incident below:
Israel Adesanya's supercar is named after a Naruto character
Israel Adesanya bought a customized McLaren 720s Spider in 2019, the same year he became the undisputed title-holder atop the 185 lbs division. Adesanya went on to name the car 'Kurama' after the comic character from the animated series Naruto, which reportedly cost him another half a million USD.
Explaining his rationale behind naming the car, Adesanya told GQ Sports:
"The car itself looks like a spitting image of Kurama, the nine-tail demon fox, from the series 'Naruto'. So, it was meant to be, that was my tilt beast. I named it Kurama as well. And that set me back about half a million."
Watch Israel Adesanya's interview with GQ Sports below:
Israel Adesanya recorded his fourth successful title defense at UFC 271 earlier this month. He is likely set to take on top-ranked contender Jared Cannonier in his next bout.