Israel Adesanya says he was prepared to risk it all for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight gold.
Adesanya went one-on-one with Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 236. The bout was an instant classic and an early contender for “Fight of the Year.” In the end, Adesanya walked out of the State Farm Arena with UFC gold thanks to a unanimous decision victory.
Adesanya Had ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ Mentality
Speaking to reporters during the UFC 236 post-fight press conference, “The Last Stylebender” made it clear that he didn’t intend to lay down for anyone (via MMAFighting.com):
“I wanted to finish it. I was willing to die, so I was willing to kill. I know why people break I know why people get wilted. A lot of people are weak mentally when they get to that point. They want a way out. I’ve done it to many people before, I’ve done it to many men. So, I could see he was trying to do that to me, but he couldn’t, so he started to get discourage. That was some movie-type shit, man, c’mon. Overcoming adversity in the beginning and then the end of the fight, fifth round I rocked him how many times and I’m just trying to finish the fight. I was going for it.”
With the win, Adesanya is now set for a title unification clash with Robert Whittaker. UFC president Dana White has said he hopes to book the fight in Australia.
Can Israel Adesanya become the undisputed king at middleweight?
