Israel Adesanya is coming off an impressive five-round unanimous decision win over Brad Tavares last night (July 6, 2018) at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27 Finale from inside Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After the conclusion of the fight, at post-fight presser reporters inquired about his position in the middleweight division and what’s next for 28-year old. Israel said he wants to fight the best. (Via MMAFighting)
“I don’t even care about him,” Adesanya said when asked to clarify why he mentioned Hall in his speech immediately following Friday’s main event. “I just want to fight the best. I want to fight the guys that are ranked above me, even though I don’t care about rankings because they’re just opinions anyway. Even if a guy is below me and wants to fight, I’ll take the fight if it makes sense.
“I like fighting, I like this game, I can’t do it forever, so right now I realize I’ve just got to enjoy it while I can and just relish and bask in it and be grateful that I’m here doing this.”
Adesanya (14-0) improved his UFC record to 3-0 on Friday, with all three wins of Adesanya have come in 2018, and has 12 career knockouts in MMA.
Undefeated middleweight Paulo Costa will square off against Uriah Hall at UFC 226 PPV event, Adesanya could likely to fight the winner of this bout and will be cage-side to watch their showdown.
“I saw something the other day, where he said he doesn’t know who I am,” Adesanya said. “Well, you know who the f*ck I am now. Understand that? I said that from my first fight, these guys trying to pretend like they don’t know me, then they creeping all on my Instagram and shit. Hey, win your fight tomorrow and I’ll see you later on.”
He also has long set his sights on the bigger fish and wants to fight UFC middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker down the road.
“I told you guys. I already said it before my UFC debut. You’re going to see me and Robert Whittaker one day at Spark Arena in Auckland for the title,” Adesanya said. “I’ve seen it, I’ve seen this. All this, I’ve done it before.”
“I visualized this fight when I was in the shower today, different scenarios and all that kind of thing, but Robert Whittaker, that’s going to come one day, guaranteed,” he later added. “Even if it’s not for the title, but I think he’s going to keep that belt for a little while. He’s tough, he’s a smart kid, I think he’s going to keep that belt for a little while and I’ll come take it off him. Snatch it off him.”
Do you think Israel Adesanya is a superstar in works?
