Brad Tavares doesn’t understand the hype surrounding Israel Adesanya.
This Friday night (July 6), Tavares and Adesanya will share the Octagon in the main event of “The Ultimate Fighter” 27 Finale. There was an initial scare when Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White claimed Tavares was off the card with a broken foot. Tavares cleared up the confusion by saying it was miscommunication.
The bout is indeed on and Adesanya has been relentless in showing off his brash attitude. Tavares is puzzled by the hoopla. Adesanya held his own in kickboxing and has a professional mixed martial arts record of 13-0, but Tavares is not impressed.
Speaking to the media during his scrum, Tavares said Adesanya’s wins haven’t come against quality opponents (via MMAJunkie.com):
“Definitely not (worth the hype). No matter what he does to prepare, no matter what he tells himself – whatever it is that helps him sleep at night, come (Friday), he’s going to have to be in that cage with me and all that talking and all his mental preparation, or lack there of, is not going to help him one way or another. I do find it amusing. As far as MMA goes, he’s fought nobody. Outside the UFC, he hasn’t fought anybody. Inside the UFC, no disrespect, he hasn’t fought anybody. He asked for this. He’s going to get it.”
Tavares is currently riding a four-fight winning streak. He’s defeated Caio Magalhaes, Elias Theodorou, Thales Leites, and Krzysztof Jotko in that span. His last defeat was at the hands of current UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
MMA News has you covered during “International Fight Week.” You can count on us for live coverage of TUF 27 Finale and UFC 226. We’ve got live results, highlights, and other post-fight tidbits on tap.
Can Brad Tavares hand Israel Adesanya the first loss of his MMA career?
