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Israel Adesanya has compared himself to professional boxing legend and philanthropist, Muhammad Ali, by suggesting that, akin to Ali, he too is facing hate in his heyday.
Adesanya pointed out that during Muhammad Ali’s prime, Ali was hated by many. The Last Stylebender insinuated that he too is hated by many just like Ali used to be.
In a video put forth by the UFC News Twitter account, snippets from an Israel Adesanya interview with the UFC featured him answering multiple questions. Most notably, Adesanya spoke about the images of him and the late great Muhammad Ali edited together that he posted on his Instagram account.
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These images often evoke sharp criticism from certain sections of the combat sports world, as they believe that Israel Adesanya is wrong in comparing himself to one of the greatest fighters and most influential human beings of all time. Adesanya addressed this and stated –
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“I mean, there was a time, I’ve done it a few times, and I might do it again after this fight – When there’s three pictures that I posted on Instagram, with me next to (Muhammad) Ali. Like, in similar fashions or similar looks. And people were like, ‘Oh, my God. How dare you compare yourself to the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)? How dare you? You’re not even…”
Israel Adesanya proceeded to mock the way his detractors grumble whilst criticizing him. Adesanya continued,
“What the f**k are you going to do, Tweedledums? Nah, for me, it was more, like you said, drawing inspiration, you know. Like, he’s a pretty young black man, like myself. And, you know, back in the day, in his heyday, he was hated by many, many men. I feel the same way as well. And there’s a lot of comparisons I can draw from the Avatar world when we talk about like Avatar Roku and Avatar Aang.”
“He (Muhammad Ali) is a big inspiration to me and many more. And I draw inspiration from him because of who he is, not just in the ring but out of the ring. And I wouldn’t dare ever say I am the same or in the same air bracket as him. But, you know, you could put a picture next to me with him, and, yeah, you see the similarities, not just in flair but in the way we carry ourselves.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
The Avatar reference in Israel Adesanya’s statements is regarding the anime series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It’s a well-known fact that Israel Adesanya is a huge fan of anime. And Adesanya’s moniker, The Last Stylebender, is said to be his way of paying homage to the aforementioned anime series.
Israel Adesanya aims for glory in 2021
As of this writing, the combat sports world is just hours away from the UFC 259 main event matchup between UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
The Last Stylebender aims to win the UFC light heavyweight title and has also expressed interest in going back down in weight to defend his UFC middleweight title. Furthermore, Israel Adesanya has asserted that he will indeed fight and defeat archrival Jon Jones later this year.
