UFC 248: Israel Adesanya\, the Kiwi from Nigeria\, looks to soar against Yoel Romero

UFC 248: Israel Adesanya, the Kiwi from Nigeria, looks to soar against Yoel Romero

Inspired by Jackie Chan, Tony Jaa and anime, Israel Adesanya took up martial arts and last month became the first fighter to become Kiwi sportsman of the year.

Written by Gaurav Bhatt | Updated: March 8, 2020 2:01:08 am
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and challenger Yoel Romero face off during a ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 248. (Source: AP Photo)

As a sporting nation, New Zealand has long punched above its weight. And pride in their champions has made the Halberg awards the country’s sporting equivalent of the Oscars.

Last month, in the running for ‘Sportsman of the Year’ were shot-putter Tom Walsh (world champion and Olympic bronze medallist eyeing a hat-trick of the award), racer Scott McLaughlin (whose Ford Mustang ruled the Australian Supercars championship) and Kane Williamson, who led his team to the final of the World Cup and was adjudged player of the tournament.

In a shock to many, said achievers were overshadowed by a mixed martial artist — the reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and his remarkable 2019. Last year, the Nigeria-born, New Zealand-raised fighter defeated MMA legend Anderson Silva, beat contender Kelvin Gastelum in UFC’s ‘fight of the year’ and became the undisputed champion with a sensational knockout win over trans-tasmanian rival Robert Whittaker.

Adesanya and mentor Eugene Bareman (‘Coach of the Year’ nominee) had no plans to attend the event. Adesanya brags he “didn’t even know what the Halberg awards was”, but decided to go in case he became the first combat sports athlete to get the nod.

“Kiwis, we love a good one out. We love a good fight. This is part of the culture. We’re a country of a warrior race, the Maori,” Adesanya began his acceptance speech. “If a fight broke out right now, what would you all do? You’d ignore me and you’d watch the fight. It’s in our DNA. We’ve been doing this for so long, you guys have no idea. Way back, we’ve been wearing New Zealand on our back all over the world… Welcome to the party.”

Asked if he came up with the speech — an instant classic which has been doing the rounds on social media — on the spot, Adesanya tells The Sunday Express: “Well, it was all in the moment but I had a few pointers in my head which I needed to speak and I am happy I got the opportunity.”

The 30-year-old, who defends his title against Cuban Yoel Romero at UFC 248 on Sunday, adds: “(The award) wasn’t for me. This is for the young generation coming up who get to see someone they can relate to. They can feel like, ‘Man, my sport, like Muay Thai or Jiu-Jitsu or Wrestling is up there with the All-Blacks, the Black Caps, and the Tall Blacks and New Zealand’s top sporting teams.”

The All Blacks’ bone-crunching tackles are offset by the admirable humility off the rugby field. Similarly celebrated is the perennial pluck of the cricket team, led by nice guy-in-chief Kane Williamson. Adesanya meanwhile dropped F-bombs on stage, and told the assembled crowd: “I know some of you might clap but you’re a little salty. Stay salty, the Black Kiwi’s gonna fly all day.”

The unabashed apathy is in response to New Zealand’s supposed indifference towards combat sports. Former WBO heavyweight champion boxer Joseph Parker too could only muster a nomination. MMA has been worse off. Long derided as brutal cage fighting, it was only recognised as a sport by the government four years ago. The popularity however continued to grow, and Adesanya smashed the glass ceiling.

“We have this culture of tall poppy syndrome which is messed up. Coming up in this country, I’ve seen it so many times. When you see somebody rising you want to tear them down because you feel inadequate and you want to call it humble,” Adesanya said at the awards. “I am extraordinarily humble, believe me, but you’ll never know that because you never get to know me. Understand this, if you see one of us shining, whether it be the netball team, the Black Caps, the Sailors, pump them up! Embrace them! Because if they win, we win, if I win, you win!”

REEL TO REAL

Israel Adesanya poses on the scale during a ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 248. (Source: AP Photo)

Adesanya’s family moved to New Zealand in search of a better life. At the school in Rotorua, a 10-year-old Adesanya was abused — “Go back to Blackenese” and roughed up. He got into scuffles, but decision to become a professional fighter was prompted by his Ong-Bak and Jackie Chan fandom.

“(Thai action film) Ong-Bak was something else. I remember thinking this is cool, this is different,” Adesanya told NZ Herald. “And Jackie Chan was my Bruce Lee. He made fighting look cool, fun, funny. That’s the kind of fighters I like. Ong-Bak seemed more real, and made me want to learn Muay Thai.”

Adesanya soon made his way to Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym, the brainchild of Eugene Bareman which has now exported six fighters to UFC, including current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

In the running for coach of the year Bareman, told Newshub that he didn’t “expect to win it. I looked up when Joseph Parker got nominated and I couldn’t believe he wasn’t Sportsperson of the Year. Boxing is, over time, the most popular sport on the planet and he didn’t win it. That says to me that the powers to be are not educated enough to understand the enormity of winning a prize like that [WBO heavyweight title], let alone what we have, as a team, achieved last year. It says to me that maybe there’s a fraternity of people there that aren’t ready to acknowledge things, that their minds are a bit closed. The simple fact is that we belong there amongst netball, canoeing, cricket.”

True to his inspirations, Adesanya’s style is a mix of both Jackie and Tony Jaa, with some anime thrown in for good measure. In the cage, he is flambuoyant, flexible and always feinting. His fighting style, as well as his penchant for theatrics (walkout dances, mid-fight poses), have made him one for the highlight reels.

Adesanya racked up a record of 75-5 in kickboxing, before switching to MMA in 2012. He made his UFC debut in February 2018 and declared that he’d be a champion in two years.

Two years later, Adesanya’s done one better, and now prepares to defend his title against Yoel Romero, a genetic freak of a wrester who became the 85kg world champion in 1999 and earned a silver at the Sydney Olympics. Romero is 42, but remains a fan favourite thanks to his grappling and heavy hands.

He’s on the cusp of global superstardom, and Adesanya knows a strong win over Romero could make him a draw along the lines of Conor McGregor. He’s not one for the Irishman’s school of trash talking.

“There doesn’t need to be hatred before or after a fight, because it’s all said and done in the moment,” Adesanya told The Sunday Express. “I’m cool with a lot of my opponents in the UFC. There’s people I’ve fought who were my friends in kickboxing tournaments and after the fight and all the trash talking, we were still cool. I might also be going to some of their weddings soon.”

He’s eyeing bigger targets too. New Zealand secured, Adesanya now wants to become a phenom in his native Nigeria.

“I want to be like what Manny Pacquiao is to the Philippines. When Manny Pacquiao fights, the Phillipines shuts down completely. And everyone watches his fight. They hail him as a son of the country. I feel like I’m on the way,” says Adesanya. “Last May, I was trying to sneak into Nigeria, low key to enjoy myself. My dad said it wouldn’t be possible because I’m too well known over there. And he was right.

“At the airport, I was getting hounded by fans, people showing love and support. They stay up until 4 am in the morning to watch our fights live. I’m telling you, it’s already getting bigger, but once I keep doing what I’m doing, it’s only going to get grander.”

UFC 248 (Adesanya vs Romero), 8:30 am onwards on Sony Ten 2 and Ten 3.

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