Israel: Kiwi bout is going to happen
The Israel Adesanya effect and growth of mixed martial arts was on full display on the eve of the UFC’s return to Auckland. Hundreds of fans turned up to Spark Arena for the ceremonial weigh-ins before Adesanya took the stage for a press conference ahead of his middleweight title defence against Yoel Romero in Las Vegas on March 8 (NZ time).
The Kiwi contingent had the crowd hyped as Dan Hooker, headlining the event in his home town, and Kai Kara-France both laid down the challenge with a pukana to their respective opponents. Brad Riddell came out with the silver fern painted on his chest, while Australian-born, Auckland-raised heavyweight Ben Sosoli provided a lighthearted moment by drawing a six-pack on his stomach.
Adesanya has headlined UFC pay-per-view shows in his last three fights and as one of the biggest draws in the promotion, it’s likely to remain that way for some time.
But in an interview with Stuff this week, UFC senior vice president of international and content David Shaw said they remain open to bringing a PPV card, which are generally held in the US and the promotion’s bigger markets, to New Zealand. And Adesanya said a home title defence was definitely on his radar for the future.
‘‘You know it, 100 per cent. Even if we have to build an indoor stadium for us to fight,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s one down south [Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium] . . . even Mt Smart Stadium, I don’t know, put some umbrellas up the top, whatever we have to do. It’s going to happen, eventually I’ll defend the belt on these shores.’’
MMA in New Zealand is at an all-time high following the success of the Nigerian-born star and his City Kickboxing team-mates, which include Hooker, Riddell, Kara-France and Shane Young.
Last week’s Halberg Awards showed the rest of the country was starting to catch on as Adesanya took home the sportsman of the year prize and stole the show by calling out tall poppy syndrome in his acceptance speech, while City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman was also nominated.
‘‘Everyone liked it, so I’m glad people can take the positives away from what I said and I meant it,’’ Adesanya added.
‘‘Just because you don’t see what’s happening doesn’t mean it’s not actually happening. No matter what you do you can’t stop it. You might try and ignore it but guess what, we’re here to stay and we’re not going anyway.’’
Before anyone can start dreaming of Adesanya competing on home soil, he has to get past Romero, who took part via satellite on the big screen. While Romero is coming off two close decision defeats, the Cuban powerhouse has a reputation as the ‘‘bogy man’’ of the division, which was the main reason Adesanya called for the matchup after Paulo Costa was ruled out.
The champion was at his charismatic best as he fired verbal barbs at Romero, questioning why he didn’t fly to New Zealand for the press conference (Adesanya flew to the US for a press conference earlier this month) and raising his previous weight issues.
But he’s clearly not underestimating the challenge ahead of him.
‘‘He’s a veteran and he’s an explosive guy. He likes to lull people into a false sense of relaxation and then he explodes on them,’’ he said. ‘‘I just have to keep the same energy. Every fight I’ve had in the UFC was the biggest fight I’ve ever had – this is no different. This is the biggest fight of my career thus far.’’
Adesanya also shared his excitement for today’s card, admitting to being a ‘‘nervous wreck’’ whenever he watches his team-mates fight.
But there was no doubt all three would send the crowd home happy.
‘‘I’m just a fan, to be honest,’’ he said. ‘‘I was right here in 2017 when Dan kneed Ross Pearson’s head into the ceiling. I was screaming my face off and I still will be tomorrow when he does that to Paul Felder.
‘‘Last year we stormed Australia, we did the three-peat twice. Tomorrow everyone else is coming to our shores and we’re going to repeat the three-peat, we’re going to dominate.’’
‘‘It’s going to happen, eventually I’ll defend the belt on these shores.’’ Kiwi star Israel Adesanya