Israel Adesanya aware that he's over the "halfway point" of his career

Israel Adesanya recently spoke about his UFC trajectory and feels he has reached the midway mark of his professional fighting career.

'The Last Stylebender' opened up about his dreams and aspirations for the future and revealed that he wants to be remembered as one of the greatest fighters to ever do it in MMA.

Speaking to Combat TV on YouTube, the current UFC middleweight champion said:

"I've had over 100 fights. I know I'm definitely over the halfway point of my career in this game so I want to make sure, over the next few years, [I give] outstanding performances. I'll make sure for The people who show up to watch me fight. I want them to be like, 'Oh I was there, I watched him fight'... I want those stories forever to be told. I have to be able to put the work in now."

Israel Adesanya has had an illustrious MMA career, more so after arriving in the UFC. The Nigerian native went 20-0 in his professional MMA career, defeating top-tier fighters like Anderson Silva, Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori and Robert Whittaker among others.

'The Last Stylebender' has only suffered one loss in his career, that too at light heavyweight. Adesanya took on then light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 hoping to claim double champ status. However, the 32-year-old ended up losing the fight via unanimous decision.

The Kiwi is now scheduled to face Robert Whittaker in a rematch at UFC 271 in February.

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Israel Adesanya reveals he's careful going into the rematch against Robert Whittaker; calls his team 'smart'

Israel Adesanya has revealed that he cannot underestimate Robert Whittaker heading into their upcoming championship bout at UFC 271.

Adesanya recently acknowledged that Whittaker has high-level coaches in his corner and shared that he isn't overlooking 'The Reaper' going into their rematch. However, he insinuated that the Australian is 'silly' and prone to making mistakes.

During a recent interview with Combat TV, Adesanya revealed that he's motivated for UFC 271 and wants to dominate every aspect of the fight. He said:

"I'm not going to fight him [Robert Whittaker] the way I fought him the first time... And I know he's not going to fight me the way he fought me the first time. He's a silly boy. If he thinks he has someone else's blueprint to beat me, he's a silly man. But his team's smart so that's why I take him seriously. He himself, he's a silly boy."

Watch the full interview with Combat TV below:

Some of Whittaker's coaches include Stand Strong's Boxing's Justin Fitzgerald, his long-time boxing coach, and Alex Perez of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Smeaton Grange, who specializes in ground-game tactics.

Adesanya and Whittaker fought for the first time at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia. 'The Last Stylebender' won the fight via second-round KO to capture the middleweight title.