Warrior Profile: Style Bender – A glimpse into the life of the UFC’s flashiest fighter!

BY MARCEL MARIAK

In the world of professional combat sports, all of the best athletes and superstars have a unique, noticeable trait. Some fighters, like Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, are known for their entertaining trash talk and banter. Others, like Caly Guida, are known for their brawling ability and resilience. The star of this issue’s Warrior Profile, Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya, is recognized for a completely different set of skills: a flashy and acrobatic striking style.

Being born into a five-child family in Lagos, Nigeria; and being harshly bullied during his childhood, Israel’s upbringing was difficult to say the least. At the age of eighteen, he joined a Nigerian kickboxing gym after watching a kickboxing movie, and his life began to turn around. With his tall, athletic frame, Israel quickly became adept at kickboxing; and after amassing an impressive 32-0 amateur record, he moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where he joined the reputable City Kickboxing Gym and began his professional kickboxing career. Israel would go on to compete in both the Glory World Series, and the King in the Ring fight promotion. Before being signed to the UFC roster, Israel Adesanya won a number of championships and accolades including becoming the AFC Middleweight Champion, the Hex Fighting Series Middleweight champion, the Glory 34 Middleweight Champion, and the King in the Ring 86 and 100 Champion. He retired from professional kickboxing with a 75-5 record.

With such an impressive track record, it was only a matter of time before someone in the UFC head office noticed Israel’s potential as a mixed martial arts fighter. In December of 2017, Adesanya signed his UFC contract, and three months later he made his debut against Rob Wilkinson, whom he knocked out in the second round. After his debut, Israel quickly became a fan favourite in the MMA community. Not because of a big mouth, or his impressive record; but rather because of his incredibly unique fighting style.

Israel Adesanya can only be described as a clinical striker. He doesn’t wildly throw hands, or swing for the fences. Rather, every strike is thrown with intent and near surgical precision. Adesanya is also much taller than most of his Middleweight opponents. Standing at 6’4” and boasting a reach of over 2m; Israel can decimate his opponents with kicks and punches from well outside their range. Israel has used his unique fighting style to defeat a number of famous fighters including Anderson Silva, Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, and Kevin Gastellum. Currently. Adesanya holds the title of UFC Middleweight Champion, after having won it from Robert Whittaker and defended it once against Yoel Romero.

While The Last Stylebender has enjoyed a firm grip on his championship in recent times, and also has an undefeated MMA record of 19-0; his legacy might come crashing to the ground on September 26^th, 2020. Israel Adesnaya will be tasked with his greatest challenge yet: defending his belt and flawless record against the hard-hitting and formidable Paulo Costa. Adesanya and Costa have been lobbing insults at each other for quite some time now; and with a month left until their showdown, the tension and aggression will only continue to grow. The battle will be legendary.