Israel Adesanya is undoubtedly one of the most prominent figures in the entire UFC. The Nigerian-New Zealander announced his entry into the UFC in a grand fashion and had one of the most meteoric rises of the entire UFC history. However, ‘Izzy’ couldn’t hold on to the momentum he had once generated and started facing criticism from the crowds. Many accused him of engaging a lot less in his fights while others labeled his fights “boring” despite many greats of MMA having his back.

The UFC 281 on 13 November 2022 bore even more disappointment for the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion. Adesanya got knocked out by his former known foe, Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira, losing out his title. But, ‘Izzy’ was still the warrior he had showcased in his bout against Kelvin Gastelum in UFC 236. Following his loss, ‘The Last Stylebender’ visited the podcast of the noted comedian, actor, and TV producer, Andrew Schulz. They talked about a volley of issues, including how Adesanya deals with his failures so effectively.

Israel Adesanya had been through a lot which taught him handling setbacks

Despite his defeat, Adesanya received huge applause from the audience at the Madison Square Garden for his UFC 281 performance. He looked super graceful, even in his defeat. This act from ‘Izzy’ made headlines in the media. Andrew Schulz also took the opportunity to pose a similar question to ‘The Last Stylebender’. He asked, “You seem to handle disappointments well”.

Izzy answered, “I had bigger disappointments in my life. Much bigger”. It’s understandable that the minor things in life hardly make an effect after experiencing the major things. The disappointment of Izzy’s loss to ‘Poatan’ was a meager one, which wasn’t enough to bow him down with grief.

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Schulz once more asked, “How do you handle them?”. Adesanya mentioned, “I’ve had people die who I really care about”. Adesanya has also endured the demise of a near one. It’s quite perceivable why he wasn’t pretty perturbed by his loss against Pereira.

Israel Adesanya knows that time is the best healer

Adesanya was familiar with the working order of this world as he continued his answer. He stated, “And again, life goes on. It reflects over, it comes in waves. But then, life moves on. Time always keeps ticking”. A lot might agree with Adesanya’s implication here of how the passage of time heals most wounds.

He also stated, “I think people expect me to handle it the way they would. So, they think I’d be like in the shadows”. He followed up his words with a depressed action, the one he was never going to be.

Adesanya also stated that he was “grateful” above all, for whatever he had. It helped him maintain his composure even after losing and continue to get better.

Do you also think Adesanya is great at getting back up from failures?

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