Adesanya’s date with destiny
When Israel Adesanya makes predictions, it pays to take notice.
Shortly after announcing himself to the world in his UFC debut in Perth, Adesanya declared he would be fighting for the middleweight championship within two years.
The fight business is full of bold declarations and most of his rivals would have simply brushed it off as hot air.
Fast forward 20 months, five more victories and an interim title later, the Nigerian-born, New Zealand-raised star is exactly where he said he would be; about to headline UFC 243 against Robert Whittaker in front of more than 55,000 people for the undisputed crown.
But you could go back well before he was in the UFC, to when he was a fan sitting in the ‘‘nosebleeds’’ the last time the mixed martial arts giant held an event at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, Adesanya always felt he was destined for this stage.
‘‘If you’ve been following me for a long time, everything I’ve done I’ve been calling it,’’ the ‘Last Stylebender’ said this week.
‘‘Even at UFC 193 right here back when it was Etihad Stadium, I remember walking the streets and tweeting ‘if you see [UFC president] Dana [White] mention me’. And now here we are, I’m about to headline the whole place and shock the world.’’
Much has been made about the undefeated Adesanya’s meteoric rise, and understandably so. He headlined a card in just his third UFC bout and won the interim belt in his sixth, putting him on the same trajectory as Irish superstar Conor McGregor.
But this was no overnight success, it’s the result of a decade’s worth of toil.
As one of the best kickboxers in the world, finishing with a staggering 75-5 record, Adesanya had often been linked to the UFC before he eventually signed at the start of 2018.
But he and his team at Auckland gym City Kickboxing patiently plotted his transition to MMA, winning his first 11 fights all inside the distance on the Australasian circuit and in China, leaving him perfectly placed to make an immediate impact once in the UFC.
‘‘A lot of people don’t take fights the way we do, people turn down fights but we never said no to a fight,’’ Adesanya said of his rise since joining the promotion. ‘‘I picked the best challenges for me at the time. I’m player one so I know how to play the game.’’
Adesanya faces the biggest test of his career against Whittaker today. Whittaker, the New Zealand-born Australian, has been plagued by health issues since winning the title in 2017 and is his coming off a 16-month layoff.
But when in octagon Whittaker has been an unstoppable force in the middleweight division, winning eight straight fights since moving up from welterweight, including two five-round wars over powerhouse Yoel Romero in his last two outings.
Like Adesanya, he is known for his striking. He has a unique style with off-beat strikes and the ability to cover distance with an explosive blitz. However, Whittaker will be giving away a 61⁄2 inch reach advantage.
‘The Reaper’ said Kelvin Gastelum exposed holes in Adesanya’s defence during their epic clash in April that he plans to exploit.
But the same could be said about Whittaker against Romero, and Adesanya warned he was much better equipped to capitalise than the Cuban.
‘‘Against Kelvin I didn’t ever gas, I was better in the fifth round,’’ he said. ‘‘Look at him in the last fight against Romero and look at how many times he got wobbled and rocked. I’m just saying, it’s a different story when you’re fighting a striker like myself, not a wrestler like Romero who’s trying to strike.’’
Should the fight go to the ground, many believe Whittaker may have an edge.
The 28-year-old was selected to represent Australia in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games (although contractual obligations prevented him from competing), but it’s not something he has heavily relied on in his UFC career.
‘‘I’m going to take the fight wherever I want to. If I feel the takedown’s there, I’ll take it,’’ Whittaker said.
‘‘I don’t take pride into the octagon. I don’t need to be proud like, ‘I’m going to make this a striking match to prove to everybody’. . . I’ll fight any way I have to to get the win.’’
American wrestling coach Frank Hickman joined City Kickboxing for this camp, working alongside Andrei Paulet, and Adesanya welcomed the chance to show off his ground game.
But ultimately, head coach Eugene Bareman felt his fighter had the ability to dictate where this contest plays out.
‘‘Through Israel’s physicality, through his range, through some of his athleticism and those sort of attributes, I think he can control where the fight goes,’’ Bareman said.
‘‘If we can control where we want the fight to go then that should steer us to victory. That’s going to be the key and that’s what I think Israel will be able to do in this fight.’’
Adesanya is one of four New Zealand-based fighters in action at UFC 243.
In the co-main event, Dan Hooker takes on highly-rated American lightweight Al Iaquinta, while fellow City kickboxing team-mate Brad Riddell makes his promotional debut against Aussie Jamie Mullarkey.
Hamilton’s Luke Jumeau joins Adesanya and Hooker on the main card as he makes his return from injury against Brazilian Dhiego Lima.