There’s a lot of big fights coming up in the middleweight division over the course of February, but former champion Israel Adesanya that it’s only his fight with Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 in Riyadh that’ll be must-see TV.
It’s a bold claim as February also sees a 185lb title rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland, Jared Cannonier fighting Gregory Rodrigues, Michael ‘Venom’ Page going up against Shara Magomedov and Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez, but they appears to be going completely under the radar of ‘The Last Stylebender’, who believes he is the key to bringing excitement to the weight class.
“I didn’t know that all those other fights were in the month of February,” Adesanya told MMAJunkie. “But yeah, exciting times for 185…
“But to be honest, 185 feels boring without me. So yeah, I want to go in there and just make it interesting.”
However, despite being one of the more unique characters in the UFC, Adesanya admits that the pre-fight build-up for his upcoming fight might be more low-key than normal, with the real fireworks set to be delivered once he steps into the Octagon.
“It’s always good to mix things up, but again, this is just fighting,” Adesanya said of his usual pre-fight antics. “It’ll be pretty boring in the lead up to this fight for the fans that like that kind of stuff, but the fight’s gonna be very exciting. That’s the sauce in this one.”
And after having lost three of his last four fights, Adesanya is also eager to serve up a reminder that he’s still a top-of-the-food-chain fighter.
“For me, it’s just proving to myself that I’m still that dude,” Adesanya said. “I know I’m one of the best, if not the best. I still feel like I’m improving and I see the work that I do. I feel the work that I do, and I just want to show the world the work that I’m doing.”
