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Israel Adesanya Has an Aggressive Response to UFC’s Africa Announcement

Published 11/21/2022, 8:15 AM EST

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Israel Adesanya may have lost arguably the most important fight of his career at UFC 281. The striking phenom’s plans for vengeance have to wait after he fell to Alex Pereira for the third time in his career. However, Adesanya’s fighting spirit still flames on, as shown by his eagerness to feature on a UFC Africa card.

During the post-fight press conference after UFC 281, UFC president Dana White spoke about his plans for a UFC Africa card. Despite losing his title last weekend, Adesanya wants in on the action.

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Israel Adesanya wants to feature on the UFC Africa card

After his title fight loss, ‘Stylebender‘ appeared on ‘The MMA Hour’ for a chat with Ariel Helwani. During their conversation, the pair discussed Adesanya’s loss, plans for a rematch, etc. The former champion also answered questions about competing on a potential UFC Africa card.

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Helwani asked Adesanya if it was too late to host a card in Africa. His reason was the recent title losses of Adesanya and Kamaru Usman. He also mentioned the contract situation surrounding Francis Ngannou. Responding to Helwani, the 33-year-old said,

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“F*ck the belt. Come on man. It’s us. What we’ve done is still etched in history forever… It’s not over… There’s moments in history that will never be captured again, that will never be replicated again. And I’m very proud to say I was part of that… I am part of that again because we’re still writing the book; this ain’t over.”

Adesanya, Usman, and Ngannou were three African champions that dominated their divisions. In a shocking turn of events, two out of the three African kings have lost their titles this year. However, that does not faze ‘Stylebender’ one bit.

After Losing Title, Israel Adesanya Reveals He Had ‘Medical Stuff’ That ‘People Make Fun’ Of

Despite losing the title, Adesanya set another record at MSG that night, coming behind only the biggest UFC star to date, Conor McGregor.

Adesanya reacts to the unique Madison Square Garden record

During his conversation with Adesanya, Helwani mentioned how UFC 281 set the record for the second-highest gate at the fabled Madison Square Garden. This number, he mentioned, was not just for UFC events but for all events ever held in MSG to date. Helwani also pointed out how the highest gate at MSG still belongs to UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor.

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“That’s cool… Crazy isn’t it?… That’s what I mean. Like, the little moments, when you think about like, you can’t help but just smile. Just grateful. Like, I did that, we did that. That’s crazy,” said Adesanya.

The former champion had a humble and grateful approach to his new record. This feat also proved Adesanya’s star power inside the UFC.

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Watch This StoryFive times Israel Adesanya obliterated his opponents inside the UFC octagon

What are your thoughts on a UFC Africa card? Do you see Adesanya winning his title back? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Yeswanth Praveen

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Yeswanth Praveen is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. His interests mainly lie in the realm of MMA, bodybuilding, and the fitness industry. He finished his Master's in English literature from EFLU, Hyderabad.
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Edited by:

Rohini Kottu