Two-time UFC Middleweight champion and MMA megastar, Israel Adesanya, is ready in the quest for his title against current Champ Dricus Du Plessis this Saturday, with his mind refocused after a long layoff, the Nigerian-born New Zealander in an interview with Stake.com, said he is looking to a win against the Brazilian for a career new height.
You have been out of action for a long time, how prepared are you for the fight?
This is the longest layoff in my whole fighting career. I kind of got forced into taking a break because my body needed it. Not because of the fights, but the training camps. My mind, body and spirit needed it, and I'm glad I got the break I needed and reset myself, and reaffirm myself. Let's go!'
My team is everything you need. I'm a friendly guy and a lot of the people I connect with feel like they've known me for years, but my team are the ones who will always be around me because they understand me. I've been here before, I've lost before and I know how things change, so for me, the defeat didn't shake me. You watch this, in 10 days, I'm going to smoke this fool. I've been here before, but I'll play the game a little differently this time.
Going by the first bout, how do you hope to overcome a very formidable opponent like Du Plessis?
Dricus Du Plessis is a guy who fights the way he fights, and he gets a lot of success, but it leaves him very vulnerable. When you fight a guy who is very precise and lethal like me, come on, it will be quite different.
The highlights will always be there. The way I fight will always produce highlights, and those are nice bonuses, but I don't look for them, they just show up.
I think he's going to shoot straight away. I doubt he'll want to strike with me for too long. This is something that people always say, but I've shown before that I can wrestle too. It might not be how everyone else wrestles, but I can wrestle too, that's why I ended up becoming a world champion.
What are the innovations you want to bring into this duel?
I love everything, but it depends on the specifics. Sometimes when we're grappling, I learn something and I'm like, oh yes, I want to get in on this! With the striking, it's super repetitive, but you have to do it and you do it like you love it because you can never train the fundamentals too much. I'm always excited to learn and get in the cage and get it on.
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The last fight seems to demystify you going by the trend of the fight, how do you hope to overcome that?
I need to prove to the doubters that I am still 'The Israel Adesanya'
It's not so much about the belt. For me, it's when people doubt my skills after what I've done in this game and the classics that I've made. The main driving force is for me to prove to myself that I am still me, I am still Israel Adesanya, and what drives me is proving me, to me.
Your BJJ coach Craig Jones, will not be available for your fight because he is involved with his programme. What are your thoughts about the whole thing?
Craig Jones in the CJI is great, I will be there in spirit. He is my guy any day and even before this thing happened, he told me that he got the investment and was going to run it the same week as ADCC. If I wasn't fighting, I would be there. I love to see a guy who keeps it real and himself gets the credit. Me and him get along and understand each other.
