Israel Adesanya could rule the UFC middleweight division for years. But how did he get into combat sports?

Israel Adesanya is currently the UFC middleweight champion and he doesn’t seem to want to give up the belt just like that. On the contrary. He can dominate for a few more years. But how did he get into wrestling in the first place and what is his story?

Israel Adesanya is currently one of the best fighters in the UFC, he is the middleweight champion and he even tried to win the welterweight belt, but unsuccessfully. It was in a fight with champion Jan Blachowicz that he suffered his first defeat under MMA rules, he currently holds an excellent record of 21-1.

However, Adesanya has gradually worked his way up to MMA. As well as combat sports in general.

Born in Nigeria, Adesanya was signed up for taekwondo by his mother at the age of four, but dropped out after an injury. Subsequently, the current UFC champion briefly tried life in Ghana, moving to New Zealand with his family at the age of 10 for the opportunity to get a quality education.

And when did Adesanya actually start combat sports? When he started getting bullied in high school and wanted to do something about it. At the age of 18, he signed up for kickboxing and that’s when history began to be made.

In kickboxing, Adesanya became one of the best fighters, making it all the way to the famous Glory organization, which could be compared to the UFC in MMA in the kickboxing world. He had an excellent standup record of 2-2.

But otherwise in kickboxing Adesanya holds a fantastic record of 75-4, he has only been knocked out once in his entire career in all combat sports, otherwise he only hands out knockouts himself.

And it should be mentioned that although kickboxing may be on the decline from the scene, Adesanya has been a true star who has pulled. For he put on a great fight, with a good dose of sass and confidence. His fights were simply not boring.

He made his professional debut in MMA in 2012, taking up MMA and kickboxing simultaneously, before signing with the UFC in 2017, where he quickly became a big star, picking up win after win.

It should be mentioned that Adesanya is not only a great stand-up fighter, he can also handle himself on the ground. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to succeed in the UFC. Besides, he knows how to handle fights with opponents who may not suit him stylistically. He can analyze his opponents and he shows it in his fights.

And to be beaten by welterweight champion Jan Blachowicz? Adesanya was lighter in the fight, underweight even, and the Polish fighter was able to use his weight and some of his power advantage to score the fight. Otherwise, the Nigerian showed he can take a lot and even Blachowicz’s hard punches didn’t shake him too much.

In the UFC, Adesanya now has 11 fights with a 10-1 record, having defended his belt in June. He became interim champion in May 2019 when he defeated Kevin Gastelum in the best fight of that year, and has officially held the belt since October of that year when he defeated Robert Whittaker.

Fighters like Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa were then unable to flip him for the belt. Currently, Adesanya doesn’t appear to have any competition at middleweight. That’s why he may well dominate it for a few more years and become a UFC legend.

Sources: Sherdog, Fight Live, UFC, Glory Kickboxing