“You’re Getting Paid for a Championship Fight”- When Referee Dan Miragliotta Knocked Some Sense Into a UFC Champion After Lackluster Performance

There is no doubt that Israel Adesanya is one of the most entertaining fighters to watch in the UFC. His elegant and unpredictable striking style has been his biggest weapon in his rise to the top. However, one of his fights was not that appealing to the fans. The veteran referee, Dan Miragliotta, stopped the fighters in their second to give them an earful for their slow performance.

Referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fighters and said, “You got only two rounds left. You gotta give the judges something to score. You’re getting paid for a championship fight. Let’s see what you do. Let’s go, back it up.”

The fight wasn’t like most other Style Bender fights we see. It was extremely slow and defensive in comparison and not that action-packed. Adesanya’s kicks put him a step ahead of Yoel Romero and bagged him a decision victory. This was arguably one of Adesanya’s most boring fights ever and was a huge letdown for the fans.

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After the bout, UFC president Dana White also said that he regrets making the fight between Adesanya and Romero. White also revealed that the matchmakers at the UFC advised him to not make the fight, but White went ahead and fixed it instead of waiting for Costa, which he seems to regret.

Israel Adesanya talks about his first fight

Every fighter who has made it to the UFC has been through a lot of fights to get to the promotion. The UFC is undoubtedly the highest level of competition in mixed martial arts.

On an episode of ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson,’ Israel Adesanya recalled his first-ever fight which he fought in New Zealand.

Adesanya said, “I remember my first fight the feeling of it. Because I fought this guy, you know David Tua right? He’s a Boston New Zealand legend. this guy had a haircut like him like the high top fade and he was definitely not in my weight class… This is my first ever fight amateur fight.”

“In my head, I’m like what are you doing? This guy’s going to whip your a** holy s**t… Then within the first 15-10 seconds, I remember I dropped him with a dropkick and this feeling of confidence just surged through me and I remember just feeling like just god mode but then after that everything else was a blur.”

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Adesanya has come a long way from where he started. Adesanya is full of confidence right now and has a lot of faith in his abilities. Do you believe Israel Adesanya will go down in MMA history as a legend? Do tell us in the comments section below.