Adesanya has thrust himself into superstardom.
Israel Adesanya has been nothing but the perfect showman since entering the world UFC. He has quickly risen the ranks and is now a champion his weight class. On Saturday, Adesanya knocked out Robert Whittaker in the second round to claim his 18h victory and also improved his all-time MMA record to 18-0. It seems like Adesanya can’t be beaten right now and he’s already looking towards fighters like Jon Jones for big bouts.
Despite his immense success, “the last style bender” has been criticized by MMA pundits for being too skinny and not packing enough a punch. During his fight against Whittaker, Adesanya proved all those criticisms to be obsolete as he gave his opponent multiple haymakers to the face. Whittaker felt the full force these punches and was eventually knocked out because them. In his post-fight interview, Adesanya let his critics know what he thought about them.
As you can see from the clip above, Adesanya mentions the criticisms that have been thrust against him and he completely dismisses them while maniacally laughing at the camera. Right after this, he flexes his muscles showing everyone that he really isn’t that skinny. Clearly, Adesanya went into his fight Saturday wanting to show people what he’s truly about and that’s exactly what he did.
It will be interesting to see what he’s able to do with his next opponent.