It was only recently that Israel Adesanya looked invincible. Like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones before him, Adesanya’s abundant confidence and calm finesse in the ring made him look levels beyond his opponents. This is a man who dispatched Robert Whittaker on home soil. He defeated the legend Anderson Silva. He handed Paolo Costa his first ever MMA loss, via second round knockout. Until he moved up a division to fight Jan Blachowicz, Israel Adesanya had never lost a fight in his entire MMA career.

Adesanya, like all premier athletes, thrives on confidence. Why believe in anything other than your own objective superiority when all opponents crumble before you? He amassed a whopping 75 wins in kickboxing before transitioning to MMA. However, faced with incontrovertible evidence otherwise, you could forgive a man for losing this confidence.

Can Israel Adesanya Return to his Winning Ways?

This is not to say that Israel Adesanya is a worse fighter because he lost to Jan Blachowicz. The unanimous decision left no room for doubt: on the day, Blachowicz was the better man. The question we must ask, only days before his rematch with Martin Vettori, is can Israel come back from this loss?

Good fighters become great because they learn from their defeats. Great fighters become legendary when they improve despite setbacks. 

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Israel Adesanya wasn’t a lifelong athlete. In high school, the Nigerian-New Zealander was more interested in anime than sports. This led to two things. First (and somewhat predictably), mistreatment at the hands of high school bullies. Second, his nickname: The Last Stylebender, taken from his favorite cartoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Israel Adesanya, like Mike Tyson before him, attributes his experience as the victim of bullying to his pursuit of combat sports in later life.

Adesanya’s final fight for the Glory kickboxing promotion ended in a loss by knockout. Before that, he lost the Glory Middleweight Championship to Jason Wilnis by decision. After these consecutive defeats, Israel made the switch to MMA, and commenced his remarkable undefeated run through the UFC. 

Adesanya has improved following defeats before. He has regained his confidence and emerged as a better fighter. Whether he can repeat the feat this weekend is entirely up to him, but one thing’s for sure: it’s going to be an entertaining fight.

Which way do you see Adesanya’s title defence going on Saturday night? Will he continue his win streak in the Middleweight division? Can Martin Vettori do what all other comers have failed to do, and claim the title for himself? Let us know in the comments.

Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!