Israel Adesanya reflects on his “realest moment in the cage” against Kelvin Gastelum after UFC 236 Hall of Fame inductions: “I wasn’t scared of death"

Israel Adesanya became a UFC champion for the first time when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 236 in 2019 to win the interim title. 'The Last Stylebender' went toe-to-toe with the heavy-handed Mexican-American for five rounds in what has been labeled as arguably the best co-main event in MMA history.

At UFC 312 on Feb. 8, their clash was cemented in the MMA annals after being inducted into the UFC's 'Fight Wing' of the Hall of Fame. The moment was made even more special as Adesanya sat next to the promotion's CEO Dana White in the crowd for the pay-per-view.

Arguably, the most memorable moment of the entire fight was the Nigerian-born Kiwi's utterance of the phrase, "I am prepared to die" while waiting for Round 5 to begin.

The former champion appeared in front of the media following his fight's induction into the Hall of Fame. The 35-year-old reflected on the spine-chilling moment ahead of the fifth round, saying:

"That was the realest moment I think I've ever had in the cage. The realest moment. I meant every single word of it. I returned the favour by trying to kill him. And he's a hard man to kill. For me, in the moment I wasn't even scared. I wasn't even scared of death. I'd just got rocked and I was like, 'If this is how I go out then this is how I go out. But I'm gonna die trying.' And I tried, and I did."

Catch Israel Adesanya's comments below (1:25):

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Dana White shares cage-side conversation with Israel Adesanya at UFC 312

Following the conclusion of UFC 312 in Australia, Dana White shared Israel Adesanya's initial reaction to his UFC 236 clash with Kelvin Gastelum being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The pair sat next to each other when the announcement was made in the arena. During White's appearance in front of the media following the event, he shared details of his conversation with 'The Last Stylebender', saying:

"He didn't know why he was here, and when he came over and sat near me he's like, 'What's up?' And I'm like, 'Just wanted to hang with you a little bit.' Then he got hit with [the announcement]. Well deserved, and really happy for him. We talked tonight, he's gonna take some time off and relax."

Catch Dana White discussing Israel Adesanya below (7:30):