Israel Adesanya just doesn’t have time for unnecessary drama.
While he’s one of the most ferocious competitors inside the octagon and widely considered one of the greatest middleweight champions in UFC history, Adesanya isn’t holding onto animosity for any of his past opponents, no matter the result in their fights. That was never more evident than Adesanya recently adding Robert Whittaker to his stable of training partners before sitting next to Alex Pereira at UFC 312 on Saturday in Australia.
Adesanya engaged in six fights across two sports with Pereira and Whittaker, but he would much rather consider them allies than enemies for the future.
“With all these guys, what’s hating Alex or hating Rob or anyone else do for me?” Adesanya said during an appearance at UFC 312. “It doesn’t serve me at all. It’s just poisoning myself. I’m holding onto hate in my heart for someone that’s moved on. So why would I do that? I’m not that kind of person. I’m just a chill guy.”
As much as it seemed like Pereira was the boogeyman lurking around every corner with three wins against Adesanya prior to their fourth encounter in the UFC, “The Last Stylebender” promises he was never chasing that fight like it haunted him somehow.
In fact, Adesanya is quick to point out that Pereira came to the UFC looking to renew their rivalry after the Brazilian turned his full-time attention towards MMA after a very successful kickboxing career.
“I was even telling Alex before — like I said earlier, this is fighting, you’ve got to be a man about this,” Adesanya explained. “If you don’t fight, you’re not a man, you don’t understand, but we shot a fair one, that’s it. Cool.
“I even told Alex ‘bro, you beat me in Brazil, that was a fair one, cool. I left you alone. You chased me. So that’s your problem.’ That was his fault.”
The same goes for Adesanya when he’s asked about his most recent opponent Nassourdine Imavov, who knocked him out in the second round in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event.
While Adesanya obviously went into that fight with victory on his mind, he’s not holding onto any undue ill feelings towards Imavov just because he got the job done that night.
“People ask me about the Imavov rematch. I’m like why?” Adesanya said. “There’s no need unless down the line something for the belt. Maybe he becomes champion, and I get my way there, but I don’t think I’ve got to get it back.
“That’s not how fighting works. That’s not how I see it unless it’s on some real beef personal shit but nah, you shot a fair one you beat me or I beat you, good game, we’ll move on, we’ll move forward.”
When it comes to moving forward, Adesanya isn’t in a rush to book his next fight with plans to take time off, recover from his loss, and then he’ll start plotting his next move.
He was already surprised on Saturday when the UFC sprung the news on him that he was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for his legendary fight with Kelvin Gastelum from 2019.
Adesanya appreciated the acknowledgement for one of his career-defining fights, but even in defeat, he knows he’s still making unforgettable moments that live on beyond his days competing in the UFC.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t change anything,” Adesanya said. “The chance to be able to feel these moments, regardless it’s always making history. I’m making history even when I lose. I’m grateful even to Nassourdine Imavov because we shot a fair one; he beat me. Cool, we move on. I move forward to the next one. I was grateful that I didn’t come out hurt. Grateful that my family came out to support me. I could take them somewhere like Dubai, and I could just hang out with my siblings.
“Because I think people expect you to react the way that they’d react, but they don’t understand. You haven’t done what I’ve done. So we’re not the same. I was grateful for that moment. Grateful for the week, and I’m grateful for tonight as well.”
