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Will a Fight Between Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman Ever Happen?

Published 06/07/2021, 1:30 PM EDT

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Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman are two of the best fighters in the UFC. Therefore, many people have always wanted to see them compete inside the Octagon. Both the fighters are UFC champions and therefore a clash between them would be great to watch.

However, a fight between ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ and Adesanya seems highly unlikely to happen. Both Adesanya and Usman are Nigerian and have always shown support for each other.

Usman had even talked about how he would never fight ‘The Last Stylebender’ and won’t move to the middleweight division till Adesanya is champion.

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“I don’t see myself ever fighting Israel. Even though a lot of people have hinted towards it, ‘You guys need to fight, I don’t see myself ever fighting him.”

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“Having two belts in Nigeria is better than just having one guy holding two belts. There’s no desire there. That’s my guy. He’s special.”

While Usman always loved and respected Adesanya for whatever he has achieved. His admiration for his fellow UFC fighter has just grown over the years.

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“Israel is special. I get kinda envious, like damn I wish I could do that shit,” Usman said. “I wish I could whip my hands around the way he does it and the way he throws that little question mark kick. I’m a fan of these guys, and Israel is one of these guys that’s special.”

Kamaru Usman will only move to middleweight if Israel Adesanya vacates his belt

Kamaru Usman has clearly stated his desire to move to the middleweight division. However, there is just one thing that is standing in his way and that is his Israel Adesanya.

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Usman does not want to compete with ‘The Last Stylebender’ and talked about the same again. “Absolutely, absolutely. If Izzy’s willing to move up, well he is moving up, but if he’s willing to give up that 185 belt and says, ‘I have nothing to do with that anymore,’ then absolutely I would entertain that thought.”

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“On no account right now would I ever entertain going up to fight Izzy. That’s just not something that I’m interested in. I’ve stated over and over before, I’d rather two Africans with belts as opposed to one African with two belts. After March, it’s gonna be three Africans with four belts. It’s a good time to be an African.”

Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya have repeatedly said that they have no intention of fighting each other. Therefore, even though the fans want to see these two magnificent fighters compete, the chances of it happening are almost zero.

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Written by:

Paras Pande

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Paras Pande is a UFC author at EssentiallySports who is pursuing his graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication. An ardent follower of the UFC, he has been covering the sport for 2 years now. Before joining the team at EssentiallySports, Paras gained expertise as an MMA writer whilst working with Sportskeeda.
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