Israel Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, recently shared a moment with the stand-up comedian Chris Rock who was involved in the 94th Academy awards slap controversy with Will Smith.

Rock was at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, for his Ego Death World Tour 2022. After his show, the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning comedian met the UFC champion backstage.

‘The Last Stylebender’ later posted some of the pictures from their meeting on his official Instagram stories. He was all complimentary about the comedian in the caption.

“Appreciate greatness while they here,” Adesanya wrote in the post. The UFC champion also expressed gratitude while sharing another picture with the comedian in the next story. He wrote, “I’m grateful!!” in the caption.

Adesanya has made a checklist of some of the greatest comedians he meets, which he later uploaded on his Instagram stories. Joe Rogan, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Jim Jeffries, Chris Rock, and Tom Segura are the names he ticked. However, Dave Chappelle wasn’t ticked, as Izzy is yet to meet him.

Israel Adesanya ready for revenge

‘The Last Stylebender’ has outperformed almost every top contender in the middleweight division since he became champion. However, his naysayers have been calling him out for his recent lackluster performances, even though he won them all. 

Also, Adesanya’s old rival from the Glory Kickboxing days, Alex Pereira, who defeated him twice, has entered the UFC. Given his two losses against him, people want to see the UFC champion fare against him for the third time inside the cage.

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Therefore, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is up for his third clash with the Brazilian Pereira at UFC 281 in November. ‘Poatan’ has won six of his seven MMA bouts, four of which came in the UFC. Two of his wins in the promotion came via a finish. Hence, people believed he could be a tough fight for the champion.

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However, despite his slow recent performances, Adesanya has proved himself enough to earn a spot among the greatest. He is also more experienced than the Brazilian in the UFC. Hence, it won’t be a walk in the park for ‘Poatan’ to face the champion.

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What are your thoughts on this match-up? What do you guys think about Izzy meeting Rock? Let us know in the comments section below.