Tag: Israel Adesanya

Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, Dillon Danis among fighters pushing #StaySafe movement

Dozens of fighters under the Paradigm Sports Management umbrella came together to send messages of support to fans Wednesday.

Dozens of fighters under the Paradigm Sports Management umbrella came together to send messages of support to fans Wednesday – and to remind everyone to stay safe.

Since the global coronavirus pandemic has shut down much of the world and ushered in new terms like “social distancing,” fighters are left largely training on their own – and without fights to look forward to, for the most part.

Many of Paradigm’s standouts, including former UFC dual champion [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], current middleweight champ [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag], former middleweight champ [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] and Bellator star [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] offered up encouragement and reminders in a mashup video posted to Paradigm’s social media pages.

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Check out the video below:

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We will get through this together.

A post shared by Paradigm Sports Management (@paradigmsm) on

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Coronavirus pandemic can’t stop the Israel Adesanya vs. Jon Jones Twitter beef

UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones continue to trade barbs on Twitter by taking aim at each other’s pasts.

In these trying times during the global coronavirus pandemic, there’s definitely time to revisit some old rivalries.

UFC champions [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] and [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] reignited their flame when Adesanya decided to poke Jones on Twitter. Naturally, Jones wasn’t going to let that slide.

Jones responded with an image of Adesanya’s lone knockout loss in kickboxing, but proceeded to delete it afterwards.

But Adesanya took a screenshot before the tweet was deleted and fired back at Jones by taking aim at his recent legal woes.

“Did he do a post & delete Dwight? I been ko’d once and I never made that mistake again. How many times you been arrested? How many times you pissed hot? How many times you had your belt taken off you? (someone answer these) You never learn you PulsingPictoPussy.”

Adesanya expects to cross paths with Jones some day, but has made it clear he still has work to do as a defending middleweight champion. He notched his first title defense in March, outpointing Yoel Romero at UFC 248, and is expected to face Paulo Costa next.

Jones is coming off back-to-back tightly contested decision wins over Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes. He had another recent run-in with law, but avoided jail time after reaching a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to house arrest.

The two continue to go back and forth, with Jones throwing shade at Adesanya’s recent win over Romero, and Adesanya continuing to take aim at Jones’ troubles outside the octagon.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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This Coachella-inspired UFC poster is so, so good

Brilliant.

With the UFC shutting down indefinitely on Thursday, we are now guaranteed to be without major MMA action for who knows how long. It could be a month if Dana White gets his way, but it’s likely to be longer than that if the global coronavirus pandemic doesn’t tail off soon.

And so, what do we do without fights? We dream. You know what would be nice? If, when the UFC comes back, the promotion satisfies starved MMA fans with an epic weekend. [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag], [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag], [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag], [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag], [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag], [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] … just book them all for a three-day weekend of action Coachella style.

Speaking of Coachella, the iconic music festival was supposed to kick off this weekend. On Friday, a Twitter user who goes by Ariel Helvani (with a “v”) blessed us with this Coachella-inspired UFC poster:

Just look at all those amazing matchups. But also, I can’t stop laughing at the fine print! In addition to fights, there’s also:

  • Leon Edwards Sadly Watching Covington vs. Masvidal
  • African American History With Mike Perry
  • B.J. Penn vs. Drunken Hawaiian Off The Street
  • The Evolution of Dance Presented By Holly Holm and Mini Blessed Holloway
  • Kevin Lee Fitting Into All This
  • Tony Ferguson Fighting Again Because He’s The Type Of Guy To
  • The Joe Rogan Experience Live With Nate Diaz & A Lot Of Marijuana

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Well done, Mr. Helvani.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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UFC free fight: Relive Israel Adesanya’s 2018 promotional debut

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s fast rise to stardom started a little more than two years ago.

UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]’s fast rise to stardom started a little more than two years ago.

Accomplished kickboxer Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) made his highly-anticipated promotional debut in February 2018 against Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221.

Wilkinson came in with the right strategy, catching one of Adesanya’s low kicks early and stacking him against the cage. Adesanya defended well, but Wilkinson was on him like glue.

Adesanya was able to finally disengage just under two minutes left in the round, looking patient on the feet, throwing a few jabs and kicks from the outside. Wilkinson went right back to the takedown, and Adesanya used a beautiful roll to momentarily escape before getting stuffed right back to the cage.

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In Round 2, Adesanya poured on the pressure, backing Wilkinson up with a strong jab, followed by a body shot. Wilkinson ducked under for a takedown, but Adesanya was easily able to sprawl. Wilkinson eventually landed the brief takedown, but after Adesanya broke free, he put the finishing touches on a visibly tired Wilkinson, breaking him down with a series of knees, and body shots, sending him to the canvas.

Adesanya didn’t highly rate his UFC debut, but his career only skyrocketed from there. He fought five times in his first year with the promotion, setting him up for a UFC interim middleweight title shot against Kelvin Gastelum, in what turned out to be one of the best fights of 2019.

After capturing the interim title in a thriller with Gastelum, Adesanya unified the titles with a knockout over Robert Whittaker, completing his title quest in less than two years with the promotion. He then made his first successful title defense by outpointing Yoel Romero at UFC 248.

Check out Adesanya’s UFC debut in the video above.

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Israel Adesanya reveled in Jon Jones’ arrest with a series of memes

Israel Adesanya saw this coming from Jon Jones and took the opportunity to rub it in.

[autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] saw [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ mess-up coming, but that doesn’t “meme” he can’t rub it in.

It’s no secret that Adesanya isn’t Jones’ biggest fan and vice versa, as the two UFC champions have had numerous spats despite not being in the same weight class.

But after news of Jones’ arrest on multiple charges emerged Thursday, Adesanya couldn’t help it and, typically, expressed himself through various memes showing just how much pleasure he’s taken in Jones’ latest pitfall.

Don’t kick a man when he’s down …

And the memes kept coming. He also mocked Jones’ post just days before his arrest about not messing up while in quarantine during the coronavirus outbreak.

Testify!! *catches holy ghost*

And one more jab toward Jones, this time about him being a man of faith.

Leave Morgan outta this one ol’ buddy ol’ pal.

Middleweight champ Adesanya has expressed interest in moving up in weight to face light heavyweight champ Jones, even willing to go all the way up to heavyweight, but not after he’s done clearing out the 185-pound division.

The two haven’t stopped talking smack and trading barbs, but this one likely won’t be settled until they meet in the cage.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Israel Adesanya encourages strength during coronavirus pandemic

“Only the strong can survive this sh*t.”

UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] on Wednesday issued a public message encouraging strength during the coronavirus outbreak.

In a video posted on various social media platforms, Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) talked about the global pandemic and how people’s lives are going to change over the coming weeks. Adesanya predicted both positive and negative outcomes he expects to see.

“I’ll keep this short and sweet,” Adesanya said. “This next four weeks is going to make and break some people. Some people are going to come out of this with drinking problems, drug problems, domestics, broken families. Or some people are going to come out of this with better relationships, severing all beef with family members and friends, cooking skills, better brains, healthier bodies, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

“I’m not your (expletive) guru. I’m not nobody but the UFC champion. People carry some weight. Sometimes what I say makes the news. Stay strong because only the strong can survive this (expletive).”

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As of Wednesday morning, the total number of global COVID-19 cases was nearing 440,000 with more than 19,600 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins university. In the U.S., the cases elevated beyond 53,000 and 700 deaths.

Check out Adesanya’s message in the Instagram post below:

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Darren Till slid right into Israel Adesanya’s DMs and yelled a warning at him

Darren Till with a not-so-subtle message for the champ.

[autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] has made a habit out of sliding into [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag]’s DMs.

Till, who just entered the middleweight mix last year, finds himself perhaps one fight away from a title shot after edging Kelvin Gastelum last November at UFC 244.

Till is scheduled to meet former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker on Aug. 15 in the UFC Dublin headliner, and win there could clinch his spot as the No. 1 contender.

Always up for a bit of banter, Till decided to warn the champ that he’s coming for him by once again sliding into his DMs, which Adesanya shared on Twitter.

With the weight cut down to 170 pounds taking a toll on his body, middleweight is a much more natural fit for Till. The win over Gastelum snapped a two-fight losing streak for the formerly undefeated Till, who is beaming with confidence and likes his chances against Adesanya, which he made clear in response to a fan.

I love u too but he (expletive) won’t, not a single chance in hell. Healthy till at middleweight with this new improved mind set to training and all other things. Not a (EXPLETIVE) chance!

The current coronavirus outbreak already has postponed three UFC events, but with Till not scheduled to fight until August, his chances of fighting are better than most other booked fighters.

In the meantime, Till has let himself go.

Just a tad…

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Marvin Vettori thought Yoel Romero won at UFC 248, says Israel Adesanya ‘showed me his true colors’

Marvin Vettori wants another crack at current champ Israel Adesanya, and until that day comes, he’s not about to hold back on his opinions.

UFC middleweight contender [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] wants another crack at current champ [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag], and until that day comes, he’s not about to hold back on his opinions.

The outspoken Italian slugger came up short against “The Last Stylebender” in an April 2018 clash, and Vettori admits it still leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

“People can say whatever they want about my fight,” Vettori told MMA Junkie. “I have my opinions. He has his opinions. People have their opinions, … but whoever won that fight, and the judges – one gave it to me, two gave it to him – whoever, even him, is he happy with what happened in that fight? Did it really go down like it was supposed to go down? Did anybody really come out on top, like saying, ‘I beat the other guy,’?

“If anything, he came out more beat up than me from that fight.”

Clearly, Vettori (14-3-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) isn’t likely to praise Adesanya (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) for much of anything, but “The Italian Dream” actually levies the responsibility for the champ’s lackluster UFC 248 win over [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) on both participants.

Vettori believes Romero’s initial strategy was sound, but that the 42-year-old Cuban veteran should have seen the fight slipping away as it was unfolding and made the necessary adjustments.

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“I was disappointed on both sides,” Vettori said. “I think the fault was on both sides. I actually thought Romero won the fight, but it was very close, and I know these New Zealand guys are unbeatable in decisions. If they go to decisions, they’re unbeatable. What I’m saying is, third title fight, 42 years old, you know the situation, and the strategy was good, but then fourth and fifth, starting from the third, you’ve got to bring it up a little more.”

Adesanya retained his belt in the March 7 event in Las Vegas, taking home a unanimous decision win, but he was widely criticized in the aftermath of what was expected to be a much better contest. And while Vettori does believe Romero shares in the blame, he also thinks Adesanya showed that he’s not the unbeatable monster his unblemished record might suggest.

“From Adesanya, I’m seeing just a scared guy, honestly – like, he didn’t want to take risks, and I’ll tell you why: Because Romero was being very good of not reacting to his feints and being very unpredictable, which he always is, but even more, and doing all this weird (expletive), so Adesanya wouldn’t have a lot to build on,” Vettori said. “Even if it looks like he’s a striker and he does all this weird (expletive), he plays it safe a lot of times, and people fall for this (expletive). But I’ve seen it.

“When he has to take some risks there, because Romero was being good at not reacting and stuff, he’s been scared to go fight. He got hit a couple times, and he just acted like a bitch the whole time, and so that showed me his true colors. That showed me that if there is a need to take risks, he’s not going to take them. He’s going to stay real safe. He knows he’s not going to be finished, and he known he’s not going to be beat by decision.”

Adesanya is expected to take on undefeated Brazilian brawler Paulo Costa in his next outing, though the MMA world is currently on hold along with the rest of the globe during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Vettori has earned back-to-back decision wins since his loss to Adesanya and was eyeing a third result before his UFC on ESPN+ 29 bout with Darren Stewart was scratched this past weekend.

Vettori knows he’s not yet in line for a crack at the belt, but he does hope to get another shot at Adesanya in the not-too-distant future.

“It’s not over” Adesanya said. “I think we have to settle it. We need another fight, for sure.”

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Bellator’s Gegard Mousasi would love to fight ‘very talented’ UFC champ Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya wasn’t even in the UFC the last time Gegard Mousasi fought for the promotion.

[autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] is a firmly entrenched member of the Bellator roster these days, but that doesn’t stop him from keeping tabs on his former home in the UFC middleweight division.

Mousasi (46-7-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA), a former Bellator champion, will look to regain the promotion’s 185-pound title when he meets Douglas Lima for the vacant strap at Bellator 242 on May 9 in San Jose, Calif. A win would once again put Mousasi in the discussion of being the best fighter in his weight class, and he’s quite familiar with being part of that conversation over his storied career.

Someone who wasn’t on the radar at all when Mousasi parted ways with the UFC in mid-2017 was [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC). The current UFC champ hadn’t even made his debut the last time Mousasi fought for the promotion, and “The Dreamcatcher” said he’s been impressed with the rise.

“He’s very talented,” Mousasi told MMA Junkie. “I wasn’t expecting him to have good takedown defense and be so tough. I didn’t really know the guy before, but he rose up really fast. UFC, of course, helped him with bringing him up with good fights and good matchups.”

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Mousasi has a history of criticizing the UFC for picking and choosing the fighters it supports and pushes to the top. He thought he never really got that, and it was part of the reason he chose to move to Bellator despite a five-fight winning streak in the UFC that included wins over names like Chris Weidman, Uriah Hall, Vitor Belfort and Thiago Santos.

Although Adesanya was put on the fast track, he also had to win the fights in order to earn and maintain status as UFC middleweight champ. For that, Mousasi gives “The Last Stylebender” credit.

“He did it,” Mousasi said. “He popped a very tough (Robert) Whittaker (to win the title). He’s very deserving of where he’s at, to be honest.”

Like any other Bellator vs. UFC matchup, discussion about crossover fights is fiction. The UFC has shown no willingness to promote with other MMA organization, so the idea of a Mousasi vs. Adesanya fight likely will remain fantasy.

If it did happen, though, Mousasi said he’s certain he could win.

“He has really good standup,” Mousasi said. “He has good distance and a good feeling of the fight. But of course I think I can win.”

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