Israel Adesanya is back in action next month at UFC On Fox 29 and the opponent on that night is going to be Marvin Vettori.
Many people probably do not know that Adesanya was a huge fan of professional wrestling, with the WWE Attitude Era being his favorite time as a fan.
“Attitude era was my era, now I don’t really know who the guys are (presently). Mine (favorite guys) were The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Batista…that era…Randy Orton. I listen to Chael Sonnen (You’re Welcome podcast) and I like it when he talks about the WWE, because when I was a kid…that sh*t was real. My sister used to try telling me that ‘he’s not really trying to hit him,’ but I believed…it was real,” Adesanya said in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s James Lynch.
Adesanya made his UFC debut last month at UFC 221 and scored a second round TKO finish over Rob Wilkinson.
Ronda Rousey was a huge star in the UFC and the promotion first female bantamweight champion, who recently made the jump to the WWE amid some criticism from the MMA community, but Adesanya in behind her venturing into pro wrestling.
“100 percent (behind her), you see the work those guys put in and people are so quick to forget (about Rousey’s other accomplishments). I don’t buy into the whole fandom, I just think with people who are with me. People are so quick to forget how great Ronda was, how much of a pioneer she was in the game. You think about it, from Dana (White) saying ‘there will be no women in the UFC’ to then having her do what she did. Women’s MMA, the level is rising up so fast now to the point where its like…eventually…they are rising up faster than the men. Like men’s MMA did from like 1983, the game kind of not left her behind, but evolved past her and her coaching staff. Going to the WWE, I think its great, she should enjoy herself and get that money and f*ck everybody else,” says Adesanya.
UFC On Fox 29 takes place on Saturday, April 14 from the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona with Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox.
