Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya is a Nigerian and New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion.
Early Life
Adesanya was born 22 July 1989 in Lagos, Nigeria, the eldest of five children.His father, Oluwafemi, is an accountant and his mother, Taiwo, is a nurse. Adesanya attended Chrisland School, Opebi, and enrolled in its Taekwondo after-school club until he was removed by his mother due to an injury. In 1999, he relocated to Ghana with his family for 10 months, but due to his parents wanting their children to receive a well-recognised higher education, he settled in Rotorua, New Zealand, at age 10 and attended Rotorua Boys’ High School. Adesanya was not interested in sports during high school; instead he was interested in Japanese anime such as Death Note and the manga series Naruto. Adesanya was bullied during his high school years and attributes the mistreatment he experienced to his decision to pursue martial arts later in life.
Following high school graduation, Adesanya enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Computer Design at the Universal College of Learning in Whanganui. At the age of 18, he started training in kickboxing, after being inspired by the Muay Thai film Ong-Bak. Two years later Adesanya made the decision to cease his studies in pursuit of a career in kickboxing and went on to amass an amateur record of 32–0 before turning professional and fighting in China. At the age of 21, Adesanya moved to Auckland, New Zealand, and began training in mixed martial arts under Eugene Bareman at City Kickboxing, with future UFC fighters such as Dan Hooker, Kai Kara-France and current UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski. He trains in wrestling under the Romanian New Zealander Andrei Păuleț.
Adesanya is multilingual. He is fluent in Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin and English.
Career
In May 2010, Adesanya won the first fight of his seven-fight winning streak, defeating Tim Atonio by unanimous decision. He won his next six fights, fighting almost exclusively with Wu Lin Feng in China. His winning streak earned him a place in the 2014 Kunlun Fight 80 kg tournament, held during Kunlun Fight 2. He lost the semifinal bout against Simon Marcus by an extra round split decision. Adesanya afterwards made his Glory debut at Glory 15, when he faced Filip Verlinden. Verlinden won the fight by unanimous decision. The two of them fought a rematch at Glory of Heroes 3, two years after their first fight, with Adesanya winning a unanimous decision.
Adesanya participated in the King in the Ring Cruiserweights II tournament of the regional circuit in New Zealand. In the quarterfinal, he beat Slava Alexeichik by unanimous decision, in the semifinal he beat Pati Afoa by knockout and won the tournament with a knockout of Jamie Eades. Six months later, he took part in the 2015 Cruiserweights III tournament. He scored technical knockouts of Kim Loudon and Mark Timms in the quarterfinal and semifinal bouts respectively, before winning the tournament for the second time with a first-round knockout of Pati Afoa.
Moving up in weight, Adesanya participated in the 2015 The Heavyweights III, as well. He defeated Nase Foai by TKO in the quarterfinal and Dan Roberts by KO in the semifinal, before facing Jamie Eades in the finals. The two had previously met in the final of the 2014 Cruiserweight tournament. Adesanya won the tournament final by unanimous decision.
Adesanya won five of his next six fights, including victories over Yousri Belgaroui and Bogdan Stoica. His loss came at the hands of future GLORY Middleweight champion Alex Pereira, who won by unanimous decision.
Adesanya participated in the 2016 Glory Middleweight Contender Tournament. He defeated Robert Thomas by unanimous decision in the semifinals, and won the tournament with a split decision victory over Yousri Belgaroui. He fought Jason Wilnis for the Glory Middleweight championship at Glory 37: Los Angeles. Wilnis won the fight by unanimous decision, although the result was considered controversial.
His last kickboxing fight, before transitioning to mixed martial arts, was a rematch with Alex Pereira at Glory of Heroes 7. Pereira won the fight by knockout, after dropping Adesanya with a short left hook in the third round.
Adesanya made his professional debut in 2012, with a TKO win against James Griffiths. He scored another TKO win against John Vake, before taking a two-year hiatus from mixed martial arts. He returned to MMA in August 2015, when he won the fight against Song Kenan by TKO. He went on to amass an 8–0 record, fighting mostly in Oceanian and Chinese circuits. During this run, he won the AFC Middleweight Championship at Australia Fighting Championship 20 with a first-round TKO over Melvin Guillard, as well as the Hex Fight Series Middleweight championship with a first-round KO of Stuart Dare.
In December 2017, it was announced that Adesanya had signed a contract with the UFC. He made his debut against Rob Wilkinson on 11 February 2018, at UFC 221. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus. Adesanya’s next fight took place on 14 April 2018, against Marvin Vettori at UFC on Fox 29. He won the match by split decision.
Adesanya then faced Brad Tavares on 6 July 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. Adesanya won the one-sided fight via unanimous decision. This win earned him his second Performance of the Night award.
Adesanya faced Derek Brunson on 3 November 2018, at UFC 230. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one.This win earned him the Performance of the Night award for a third time.
While initially expected to serve as the co-main event, Adesanya faced former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva on 10 February 2019, in the main event of UFC 234. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned both competitors the Fight of the Night award.
Adesanya faced Kelvin Gastelum for the interim UFC Middleweight Championship on 13 April 2019, in the co-main event of UFC 236. He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 48-46. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. The fight was widely regarded as the best fight of the year, earning the nomination from most of the MMA news outlets.
Adesanya then faced Robert Whittaker in a title unification bout on 6 October 2019, headlining UFC 243 for UFC Middleweight Championship. After a knockdown in the last second of the first round, Adesanya won the fight via knockout in the second round. This win earned him his fourth Performance of the Night award.
- Fun Fact: As of November 14, 2022, he is #1 in the UFC middleweight rankings, and as of March 21, 2023, he is #5 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
Adesanya next faced three-time UFC title challenger Yoel Romero on 7 March 2020 UFC 248. He won the fight via unanimous decision, with scores of 48–47, 48–47 and 49–46 and defended his title for the first time. Many fans and pundits felt disappointed due to the low activity by both fighters which resulted in a largely uneventful fight in which neither fighter was able to deliver any significant offense.
In his next title defense, Adesanya faced fellow undefeated fighter Paulo Costa on 27 September 2020 at UFC 253. This marked the first time two male unbeaten mixed martial artists met in a title fight since 2009. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. This win earned him his fifth Performance of the Night award. After the bout, Adesanya’s visible right-breast gynecomastia drummed up controversy due to possible PEDs use, though Adesanya claimed it was due to his usage of marijuana. Adesanya also caused additional controversy by simulating anal sex on the prone Costa at the end of the fight.
Adesanya moved up a weight class and faced Jan Błachowicz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on 6 March 2021, headlining UFC 259. At the weight-ins, Adesanya weighed 200 pounds, five pounds away from the light heavyweight limit. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, with scores of 49–46, 49–45 and 49–45, marking the first time he has been defeated in mixed martial arts.
Adesanya rematched Marvin Vettori for the UFC Middleweight Championship on 12 June 2021, headlining UFC 263. Adesanya controlled a majority of the fight winning via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 50–45.
A rematch between Adesanya and Robert Whittaker for the UFC Middleweight Championship took place on 12 February 2022 at UFC 271. Adesanya won the rematch via unanimous decision, with scores of 48–47, 48–47 and 49–46.
Adesanya faced Jared Cannonier on 2 July 2022, at UFC 276. He won the bout via unanimous decision. This win earned him the Crypto.com Fan Bonus of the Night first place award which paid in bitcoin of US$30,000.
Adesanya faced Alex Pereira, who had two victories against him in kickboxing, on 12 November 2022 at UFC 281. Adesanya lost the fight and title via technical knockout in the fifth round, his first loss at middleweight.
A rematch between Pereira and Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship took place on April 8, 2023, at UFC 287. In the second round while against the fence, Adesanya landed a right hook that knocked Pereira out, winning him the bout and the title. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.
After three loses to Alex Pereira, it’s quite understandable why the Championship rematch at UFC 287 was such a big deal for Adesanya and his fans.
In February 2020, Adesanya came under fire for comments made at the UFC 248 pre-fight press conference, where he said he would make opponent Yoel Romero “crumble like the Twin Towers”, referencing the September 11 attacks. The following day, Adesanya made an apology on his Instagram page, saying “I was simply rambling and my brain worked faster than my mouth in a moment to choose the wrong euphemism. You speak on the mic enough times and you’re bound to miss the mark with some bars. I did on this one and for that I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful in future with my words.”
On 25 March 2021, New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sport, Grant Robertson, spoke out against Adesanya’s “flippant comments” on his Instagram “Bro, I will fuckin’ rape you” aimed at fellow UFC middleweight fighter, Kevin Holland. Robertson commented “I’m sure Israel understands that, I believe he has deleted the tweet in question. It will be up to the UFC as to what they do. But I would certainly be making clear to him [Adesanya], and to anybody actually, that we have to take rape seriously. It’s not an issue that anyone should be making jokes or flippant comments about at all.”
On 16 November 2022, Adesanya was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City for the possession of brass knuckles.
Personal life
Before taking up fighting, Adesanya regularly competed in dance competitions across New Zealand. He highlighted his passion for dance in a choreographed walkout at UFC 243.
Adesanya is a fan of anime and has stated he would like to start an anime production company after retiring from fighting. His nickname “The Last Stylebender” is a reference to Avatar: The Last Airbender, an anime-influenced cartoon series. Adesanya has the image of one of the show’s main characters, Toph Beifong, tattooed on his forearm.
In September 2020, he became the first mixed martial arts athlete to sign a sponsorship deal with Puma. Adesanya was also signed as an ambassador for Stake.com in January 2021.
Net Worth
As of April 2023, Israel Adesanya has an estimated net worth of $4 Million. According to reports, Israel Adesanya consistently earned more than $1 Million in his last five fights.
In his fight with Alex Pereira, Adesanya earned a massive paycheck of $2.6 Million, which included $2 Million in base salary, $600,000 in pay-per-view sales, and $42,000 in sponsorship deals.
Israel Adesanya is the first-ever MMA fighter to land a deal with the Puma. In September 2020, Adesanya signed a multi-year deal with Puma and was announced as the face of their Oceania division. He was also set to be a part of their global plans.
Along with Puma, Adesanya has also secured an endorsement deal with fight gear supplier Engage. These endorsement deals, coupled with his successful fighting career, have helped Adesanya increase his net worth and establish himself as a prominent figure in the world of combat sports.
Israel Adesanya has previously stated in interviews that he frequently donates to multiple charities.
He has also said that he wouldn’t want to broadcast the act of paying it forward as it comes off as disingenuous.
Among other donations, Adesanya aided frontline health workers in the battle against Covid-19. He donated 10,000 three-ply face masks and 1000 eye protection face shields to the health staff in Whanganui. This donation was intended to support and protect the frontline workers who were risking their lives to combat the pandemic.
Information about Israel Adesanya’s house is not available on the Internet. However, it is confirmed that he resides in Auckland, New Zealand, where he trains in MMA.
The 6ft 3inc. tall Adesanya is known for splurging his money on expensive cars which he occasionally posts on his Instagram.
Adesanya owns a McLaren 720s Spider, a British Supercar that costs around $315,000. He also owns the super comfortable Range Rover, which comes at a price of $80,000.
On his birthday in 2016, Israel Adesanya treated himself to a Nissan SUV. This car has a maximum price of $29,000, making it a relatively affordable option for Adesanya.
