"The Rock, Stone Cold, Booker T, Shawn Michaels" - Israel Adesanya names the biggest WWE Attitude Era influences on his career

Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has revealed that he has taken some inspiration from WWE's greatest stars.

Admitting that he watched both Smackdown and RAW every week as a child, 'Izzy' admired the way they could captivate an audience. 'The Last Stylebender' believes watching WWE during the 'Attitude Era' has had a major influence on the name he has made for himself in the UFC.

Speaking on the BT Sport YouTube channel, the middleweight champion revealed which WWE stars have had the biggest impact on his career and why.

"Watching hours, Sunday night Smackdown, Monday Night Raw. Seeing the the way guys like The Rock, Stone Cold [Steve Austin], Booker T, Shaun Michaels, countless names. The way they just handle themselves as performers definitely influenced myself..."

He added:

"Being able to claim your space and just be an entertainer, own the stage, own the mic, own the moment. That's something I learnt along the way. Definitely the Attitude Era helped my claim my own time."

Israel Adesanya will face Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 this July. Looking to extend his middleweight title defense to six, Adesanya will have to overcome an elite KO artist. Cannonier is riding an impressive winning two-fight winstreak that includes a Performance of the Night KO over Derek Brunson.

Watch Israel Adesanya on the BT Sport YouTube channel here:

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Israel Adesanya rules out desire to fight Robert Whittaker for trilogy fight

Ahead of his UFC 276 title defense, Adesanya was asked whether he would be interested in fighting former champion Robert Whittaker for a third time.

'Izzy' faced the 'Reaper' for the first time in 2019, KOing the Australian and unifying the middleweight title. They fought again earlier this year. Despite it going the distance, the New Zealander walked away victorious on the judges scorecards.

During a press-conference, the 185 lbs champ gave his thoughts on potentially fighting Whittaker again

"Bobby [Robert Whittaker], he's a great fighter. He's a great fighter, I'll give that to him. But I know how that book ends. I've read that book twice already. First time was a quick read, second time was a little bit longer, but I mean, he's probably gonna be at the top for a while."

He added:

"But if we fight again, I know how that book ends so that's why I'm excited about this next fight. Some new blood, someone I've never fought before."

Robert Whittaker finds himself in a precarious position in the middleweight division. Despite losing to Adesanya twice, 'Bobby Knuckles' remains the No.1 ranked 185lb'er, clearing out most of the division himself.

Whittaker has a fight scheduled with Marvin Vetorri later this year. A win for the Australian puts him in the same position already, better than everybody except the champ.

Catch Israel Adesanya's thoughts on a potential trilogy fight here: