"The worst part is over" - Israel Adesanya spills "secret" about Nassourdine Imavov fight camp, jokingly echoes iconic Conor McGregor quote

Israel Adesanya is wrapping up his fight camp for his upcoming Nassourdine Imavov middleweight clash. During a recent appearance on Sky Sport NZ, he reflected on the nature of the bout and how much fun he anticipates it to be, even giving a nod to an old Conor McGregor from 2021.

At the time, the Irishman was gearing up to face Dustin Poirier in their trilogy bout at UFC 264, and issued a lighthearted challenge, claiming that the first fighter to shoot for a takedown is a 'dusty b*tch.'

"For me it's just, again, I feel fresh, I'm trying new sh*t in the gym and again... okay, I'll give you a little secret. There's a certain mentality where you're undefeated, you're killing everyone, and then when you've had one loss, another loss, and it's in two different styles and you're like, 'Okay. At least the worst part is over in my head.' Now, I can just f***ing... who cares? I don't care."

After revealing how much pressure being undefeated was, Adesanya repeated McGregor's iconic quote, almost verbatim.

"Just enjoy this fight, it's gonna be fun. Like all this is fun, talking, whatnot, but the fun part of this fight, cause I don't think Imavov's gonna say anything. He seems pretty cool, pretty respectful. So yeah, fun part's gonna be in the cage, and he's a stand-up guy, so first person to shoot is a b*tch. Nah, I'm joking, I'm joking."

Check out Israel Adesanya's thoughts on fighting Nassourdine Imavov (10:35):

As a former kickboxer, Adesanya operates primarily as a striker, and his skills once took him to the height of middleweight success, as he racked up five title defenses and became a two-time 185-pound champion in the UFC.

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Israel Adesanya's fight with Nassourdine Imavov is his first non-PPV assignment in years

The last time Israel Adesanya fought on a non-pay-per-view UFC card was during his promotional debut and sophomore fight, facing Marvin Vettori for the first time at UFC on FOX 29 and Brad Tavares at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale, both in 2018. Now, several years later, he will headline UFC Fight Night 250 on Feb. 1.

This comes after the worst run of Adesanya's MMA career, as he is 1-3 in his last four fights, including a two-fight losing streak in title fights, the first of his career. However, he still remains a highly ranked fighter at #2, compared to his opponent Nassourdine Imavov, who is ranked #5.