UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is on top of his game in mixed martial arts. As one of now two African-born champions in the top organization in the sport, “The Last Stylebender,” has taken no losses in his division since entering the UFC in 2018, and his journey from Nigeria to Auckland, New Zealand, to the world has been a unique one.
When it comes to the early days when Adesanya (23-1 MMA) was a kickboxer before waging war in rings before cages, Adesanya had an interesting story about the craziest way he made weight once for a fight.
One thing about this job….you never know what you’re going to hear lmao
Asked Israel Adesanya the craziest thing he had to do to cut weight. We weren’t …expecting the response
Full ep: https://t.co/LyyqhV0Ob9 pic.twitter.com/EMPUJDbUcg
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) November 10, 2022
“Back in the day when I was an amateur, when I was really young and didn’t have a fight dietician, I wasn’t in the UFC,” said Adesanya in a rare bashful moment to Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks. “I busted a nut to make weight.”
When Rooks followed up by asking how much did the ejaculate weigh, Adesanya had an answer.
“At the time I was young, and I was in that whole, no sex before a fight, and yeah, a few grams came off, 100 grams.”
One hundred grams is the equivalent of 0.22 pounds, which does not sound like a big difference but apparently, it was.
Adesanya faces Alex Pereira this weekend in the main event of UFC 281 Saturday night live from Madison Square Garden, and his opponent might have needed the awkward weight-cutting advice. Pereira (6-1) required the final minutes of the two-hour window to hit the mark making weight earlier on Friday with five minutes left on the New York State Athletic Commission’s clock. Pereira had to strip down and step into the UFC weigh-in box surrounding the scale, for those needing extra help.
Breath easy, folks! Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira are both on weight and Saturday's #UFC281 title-fight main event is official. 😊
Full story: https://t.co/TE3dROeZCn pic.twitter.com/N7R2ngRqxf
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) November 11, 2022
Although, Pereira has a limited career in MMA, he was a middleweight champion in kickboxing. He held two wins over Adesanya there. In 2016, Adesanya and Pereira fought at GLORY of Heroes 1 in China, out-striking Pereira, but Pereira’s combinations hit the mark, damaging Adesanya. In the end, Pereira got the unanimous decision to win.
“Who’s actually seen the whole fight? Hands up,” Adesanya said during a media scrum at UFC 276. “That’s one, two, three people, four, five. In a room full of how many? Exactly, you’re journalists, do your f**king job. I f**ked this guy up in the first fight. Not crazy, but the judges gave it to him.”
In their second fight in 2017, Pereira knocked the champ out via a third-round left hook, essentially retiring Adesanya from his kickboxing career, where he went a reported astounding 75-5. Pereira has been vocal about his belief that he will beat him again for the third time.
watch Alex Pereira’s son mock Israel Adesanya getting knocked out right in front of him 💀💀💀 #UFC281 pic.twitter.com/SNmGtIVnB9
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) November 6, 2022
“When it’s time, and they shut that door and lock him in there, no one can save him. He’s got to back those words up,” said Adesanya on “The Pivot” podcast. “He’s coming off my hype. I know what it is, and I welcome this. This is the big money fight. I’m glad that UFC pushed him and gave me this opportunity to rewrite history. … I hope he underestimates me. I feel like he is. He’s beaten me so he’s making all these memes and stuff and I’m just like, that’s alright. I’m working.”
The b-boy-turned-MMA star has successfully defended his title five times, and since Conor McGregor’s departure from action, has quickly become the UFC’s marquee face.
Now he has to try to stay there against Pereira.
