Israel The Honorable Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi More precisely, Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989) competes professionally in New Zealand as a mixed martial artist, kickboxer and former boxer, having won multiple championships in each of these three disciplines.
He is a former UFC middleweight champion and current competitor in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He was once a contender for the Glory Middleweight Championship in kickboxing. As of November 14, 2022, he ranks 1st among middleweights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and 6th among men in the pound-for-pound rankings.
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Israel Adesanya’s Net Worth
New Zealand professional MMA fighter and kickboxer Israel “Ismael” Adesanya has accumulated a net worth of $4 million. Multiple championships have gone to Israel Adesanya’s side. He is a former challenger for the Glory Middleweight Championship in kickboxing and an MMA fighter who competes in the UFC. Widely regarded as one of MMA’s best strikers, Adesanya won the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2019.
Israel Adesanya early life
Israel Adesanya, the eldest of his father Oluwafemi, an accountant, and his mother Taiwo, a nurse, was born on July 22, 1989 in Lagos, Nigeria. When he was younger, he studied at Chrisland School, Opebi where he also trained in Taekwondo.
Adesanya and his family moved to Ghana in 1999 and stayed there for ten months. Then they uprooted and headed for Rotorua, New Zealand. At the time, Adesanya was a student at Rotorua Boys’ High.
He then enrolled at the Universal College of Learning in Whanganui and studied computer design there. Around this time, Adesanya began training in kickboxing, eventually deciding to forgo his college education in favor of a professional kickboxing career.
Israel Adesanya Career
Adesanya had an impressive 32-0 record in amateur kickboxing before turning pro. He had a great start to his professional career, winning his first seven bouts. Adesanya competed in the Glory Middleweight Contender Tournament in 2016, winning after defeating Robert Thomas via split decision in the final.
He later fought Jason Wilnis in Los Angeles for the Glory Middleweight Championship, but was defeated by a controversial unanimous decision. At Glory of Heroes 7, Adesanya fought Alex Pereira for the second and final time in his kickboxing career and was eliminated.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
In 2012, Adesanya made his professional MMA debut with a TKO victory over James Griffiths. After his second TKO win against John Vake, Adesanya took a two-year break from mixed martial arts. In 2015, he faced Song Kenan again and knocked him out.
Adesanya has a perfect 8.0 record after mainly competing on the Chinese and Oceanian circuits. He made his MMA debut at UFC 221 in 2018 against Rob Wilkinson. The fight ended with Adesanya disqualified for a technical knockout, earning him the first Performance of the Night bonus of his career.
The next time he fought was at UFC on Fox 29 where he defeated Marvin Vettori via split decision. Adesanya won by unanimous decision over Brad Tavares a few months later and was again named Outstanding Performer of the Night.
Later in the year, Adesanya had even more success when he won the main event of UFC 230 by knockout of Derek Brunson. At UFC 234 in early 2019, he won the main event by defeating Anderson Silva. For the interim UFC Middleweight Championship, Adesanya faced Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 in April 2019.
A unanimous decision gave Adesanya victory in their epic battle. Later that year at UFC 243, he won the UFC Middleweight Championship by defeating Robert Whittaker. Adesanya defended his title for the first time, meeting Yoel Romero at UFC 248 in March 2020 and winning via unanimous decision.
At UFC 253, he successfully defended his title by technical knockout against previously undefeated Paulo Costa. When Adesanya challenged Jan Bachowicz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in 2021, it was the first time he ever lost in mixed martial arts.
At UFC 263, he got his groove back and won the Middleweight Championship in a rematch against Marvin Vettori. For the second time, Adesanya successfully defended his title against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 in 2022.
Israel Adesanya Ppersonal life
Adesanya is a professional kickboxer who also enjoys dancing and has competed in numerous dance competitions across New Zealand. His nickname, the ‘Last Stylebender’, is a reference to the anime-inspired cartoon series ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’, which he enjoys. After his MMA career is over, Adesanya plans to start an anime production studio.
Adesanya signed with Puma as the company’s first mixed martial arts (MMA) athlete in 2020. In the early months of 2021, he also served as an ambassador for Stake.com.
