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Israel Adesanya at UFC 230. Photo by MMMAnytt. .

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Israel Adesanya

Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya born is a Nigerian-born New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines. He was born on 22nd July, 1989. Adesanya is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in mixed martial arts.

Here are the Top 10 Fascinating Facts About Israel Adesanya.

1. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria

Israel Adesanya. Photo by Ewornod. .

Adesanya was born in Lagos, Nigeria, the eldest of five children. His father, Oluwafemi, is an accountant and his mother, Taiwo, is a nurse. Adesanya attended Chrisland School, Opebi, and enrolled in its Taekwondo after-school club until he was removed by his mother due to an injury.

In 1999, he relocated to Ghana with his family for 10 months, but due to his parents wanting their children to receive a well-recognized higher education, he settled in Rotorua, New Zealand, at age 10.

2. His interest to pursue martial arts was sparked by being bullied

Adesanya was not interested in sports during high school; instead he was interested in Japanese anime such as Death Note and the manga series Naruto. Adesanya was bullied during his high school years and attributes the mistreatment he experienced to his decision to pursue martial arts later in life.

“I mean, I knew I was black and I knew my skin color was dark, but I never knew it was a problem until I moved to New Zealand and kids were always picking on me and I was always like, ‘what’s up with that. Why?’

“I remember a kid from school kept on riding past my house and going, ‘go back to your country, blackinese’.” That’s when Adesanya decided to take action and he started learning to protect himself at an old Muay Thai gym. A decision he kept secret from his parents until close to his first fight in 2009.

3. He began training in martial arts at 21

At the age of 21, Adesanya moved to Auckland, New Zealand, and began training in mixed martial arts under Eugene Bareman at City Kickboxing, with future UFC fighters such as Dan Hooker, Kai Kara-France and current UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski.

He trains in wrestling under the Romanian New Zealander Andrei Păuleț. From the very start, Eugene Bareman noted the bravery of Israel. He went on to help him nature the skill.

4. He is a huge fan of anime

Adesanya is a fan of anime and has stated he would like to start an anime production company after retiring from fighting. His nickname “The Last Stylebender” is a reference to Avatar: The Last Airbender, an anime-influenced cartoon series. Adesanya has the image of one of the show’s main characters, Toph Beifong, tattooed on his forearm.

5. Israel loves dancing

Israel Adesanya with father Femi Adesanya in 2014. Photo by Ewornod. .

Israel Adesanya has had a great interest towards dancing since he was a kid. He is often seen breaking out dance moves during his walk-outs and celebrations. It also affects his footwork while fighting.

‘The Last Stylebender’ has attributed his ability to dance as a major factor in him moving so well inside the octagon. He said ‘I think fighting and dancing have a lot of correlation with their timing, distance, creativity, and other attributes.’

6. He is a professional boxer

While simultaneously competing in kickboxing and MMA, Adesanya tried his hand at professional boxing. He lost his boxing debut in 2014 but instantly rebounded, winning the following five bouts of his boxing career in 2015.

His most impressive boxing victory came against Brian Minto, who has experience facing world champions across the world. Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience, Israel Adesanya said that if it was not for MMA, he would still be competing in boxing and going after local, national and then world champions.

7. He was once accused of using steroids

Photo by Ron Hall.

Israel Adesanya’s performance against Paulo Costa was seemingly perfect at UFC 253. While his performance got praise, he still got a bit of controversy in the aftermath. Many fans noticed Adesanya’s clear gyno on his chest.

The gyno is actually a sign of an individual who is cycling off of steroids, which typically leads to higher estrogen production. However the controversy ended up going away soon after, Adesanya for his part attributed the abnormality due to him smoking Marijuana.

8. He has a very confident fighting style

His aggressive fighting style, and confidence in facing opponents, as seen from his antics in the octagon and his interviews, gives off a fearless persona, a core feature that has endeared him to multiple MMA fans.

Not only Israel’s persona makes him intimidating, but his record makes opponents get cold feet. Of his 20 wins, Israel has defeated his opponent by Knock Out on 15 occasions.

9. Israel continues to hold onto his African heritage

The center of the Israel’s chest is itched with a tattoo of the map of Africa and inside its delicate outline Lagos in Nigeria is highlighted. This is a.

10. He worked in a leather tannery

Photo by Lee Brimelow. .

One of the best fighters in the history of the sport used to work in a leather tannery before becoming a professional mixed martial artist. Adesanya considers this as one of the worst jobs he had to do in his lifetime. No matter his struggles, the legendary fighter has come a long way in his career and has already crossed numerous milestones.