"We're not in the same league" - Jared Vanderaa believes Israel Adesanya is not a true anime fan, plans to call him out at UFC 271
Jared Vanderaa has taken a light-hearted shot at Israel Adesanya's love of anime. Both fighters will compete on the upcoming UFC 271 card, and Vanderaa has stated he intends to call out Adesanya.
Vanderaa takes on former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, who will undoubtedly be the American's biggest test till date. Adesanya will rematch Robert Whittaker in an attempt to defend his belt against the former champ.
Adesanya has gained a reputation as a big fan of anime shows such as Naruto and Avatar: The Last Airbender. He regularly references them in the ring and in face-offs, as can be seen below:
Great respect to Adesanya
#NARUTO https://t.co/jRAon7TANV
In a recent interview with Sportskeeda MMA's Frank Bonada, Vanderaa poked fun at Adesanya's love of anime:
"Now Izzy, we're not in the same league. I think he's in the minors, we're in the majors. I think he likes anime, but he doesn't 'like' anime."
Vanderaa went on to reveal that he intends on calling out Israel Adesanya as well as women's flyweight veteran Roxanne Modafferi after his fight against Arlovski:
"On my card that I'm fighting, UFC 271, I have Roxanne Modafferi, she's a giant nerd... I'm gonna call [Adesanya and Modafferi] out after I beat Arlovski. Just giving you the gameplan now."
Jared Vanderaa on fighting a UFC legend in Andrei Arlovski
Still only three fights into his UFC career, Jared Vanderaa has fought some tough opposition. However, none of his previous foes in the promotion have anywhere near Andrei Arlovski's legacy. The Belarusian-American is a former champion and has beaten some of the best heavyweights in UFC history, including Frank Mir, Fabricio Werdum and Tim Slyvia.
Jared Vanderaa went on to discuss what it meant for him to fight an opponent with such a storied career:
"This is Arlovski. He's a legend. And honestly, he's doing good. He might not be breaking the top 10, but he just got done beating Carlos Felipe. Carlos is looking good himself. It's awesome to be fighting a well-versed Arlovski... He's just one of those people that you get to fight and you're like 'oh my f****** god, I get to fight Arlovski...' I fangirled way too f****** hard when I found out."
Check out the full exclusive interview with Jared Vanderaa below: