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Nicolas Atkin

Israel Adesanya has put his stunning rise in the UFC down to his experiences kick-boxing in China.
“The Last Stylebender” is in the running for UFC Fighter of the Year after claiming the undisputed middleweight title by knocking out Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 last month.
“I fought for years under the New Zealand banner, but you wanna make moves,” he told Peter Rosenberg on the Ebro in the Morning Show. “People weren’t really paying attention.
“I look at it like LeBron [James]. He was with the Miami Heat, then Cleveland, now the Lakers. The promoters in New Zealand weren’t looking at me, they didn’t see the potential.


“But when I was fighting in China they brought me over there as a journeyman so all their guys could whup up on me. Then they realised that’s not gonna happen because I kept whupping up on their guys. Then they decided, ‘Let’s bring this guy into our team’.
“They were paying me nice, the most I was making at the time. It was a lot of experience. I fought probably 23 or 24 times when I was over in China, in a year. They put me against some of the baddest [expletive] in kick-boxing, some of their baddest guys as well, and I beat up on everyone. It’s because I fought smart.”
How UFC champ Israel Adesanya was made in China
Adesanya has been in the UFC for less than two years. But despite the pressures of fighting Whittaker in front of 55,000 people at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, he was well prepared for the magnitude of the occasion.
“My first stadium show was in China, it was a 50,000-seat stadium,” he told Rosenberg. “I think 40,000 showed up. That’s why when I was in a stadium for this fight, it was like déjà vu. I’ve done this s*** before and I’ve already visualised it.
“China for me got me used to all this. Being a big black man in China in the mainland, walking down the street, you have everyone looking at you, ‘Basketball?’ They don’t really see a lot of us around, maybe on TV, so they’re just looking.
“After the fights they all swarm you, so that kinda got me used to the attention I’m getting now. It’s all reps. When I was living there I was like, ‘This is prepping me for what’s to come’. So I took everything, not just fighting, but outside fighting.”


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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Israel Adesanya says fighting in China prepared him for UFC title win

Israel Adesanya holds up the Chinese flag. Photo: Twitter

Demetrious Johnson is ‘best fighter in the world’ says UFC’s Israel Adesanya

Demetrious Johnson celebrates winning the One flyweight grand prix. Photo: One Championship

UFC: is Jorge Masvidal or Israel Adesanya Fighter of the Year? Here’s the verdict

Israel Adesanya and Jorge Masvidal stand out as the two best fighters in UFC in 2019. Photo: AFP

Jul 6, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Jorge Masvidal (red gloves) fights against Ben Askren (blue gloves) at T-Mobile Arena. Jorge Masvidal set a new record for the fastest knockout in UFC history with five seconds. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

epa07900173 Robert Whittaker of Australia (L) hits Israel Adesanya of New Zealand as they compete during the UFC 243 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 06 October 2019. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL DODGE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, center, places the "BMF" belt on Jorge Masvidal, left, as Nate Diaz reacts after a welterweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 244 early Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in New York. Masvidal won in the fourth round. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

epa07900176 Robert Whittaker of Australia (R) is kicked by Israel Adesanya of New Zealand as they compete during the UFC 243 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 06 October 2019. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL DODGE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Jorge Masvidal, right, punches Nate Diaz during the second round of a welterweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 244 early Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in New York. Masvidal won in the fourth round. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 13: Israel Adesanya of Nigeria punches Kelvin Gastelum during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. Logan Riely/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Robert Whittaker of Australia, left, is hit by Israel Adesanya of New Zealand as they compete during UFC 243 in Melbourne, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. Interim champion Adesanya dethroned UFC middleweight champion Whittaker with a knockout in the second round of their 185-pound unification bout. (Michael Dodge/AAP Image via AP)NZ

Jorge Masvidal, left, kicks Nate Diaz during the first round of a welterweight mixed martial arts bout at UFC 244 early Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019, in New York. Masvidal stopped Diaz in the fourth round. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

UFC: Israel Adesanya calls out Yoel Romero as Paulo Costa undergoes bicep surgery

Paulo Costa throws a punch at Yoel Romero at UFC 241. Photo: AFP

UFC: Israel Adesanya would snub Jon Jones and give Stipe Miocic a super fight, says coach

Israel Adesanya kicks Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. Photo: AP

Made in China: how UFC champ Israel Adesanya was forged in the backblocks of the Middle Kingdom

Israel Adesanya holds up the Chinese flag. Photo: YouTube

epa07897858 Israel Adesanya of New Zealand reacts after weighing in during the UFC 243 Weigh In Day at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 05 October 2019. The UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya upcoming mixed martial arts event is scheduled to take place on 06 October 2019 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL DODGE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Israel Adesanya celebrates with the Chinese flag.

Nigeria's Israel Adesanya, left, and Brazil's Anderson Silva fight during their middlewesight bout at the UFC 234 event in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

Sport

Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts


‘Stylebender’ says spending a year in China got him used to pressures of fame and fighting on big stage
‘Being a big black man in the mainland, walking down the street, you have everyone looking at you’



Israel Adesanya says spending a year in China got him used to pressures of fame – ‘being a big black man in the mainland, you have everyone looking at you’.


Israel Adesanya