Israel Adesanya does not want to be the first Chinese champion. He strongly believes that the position belongs to only Zhang Weili, whose roots lie in China. Weili is the current UFC Strawweight champion and is looking forward to fighting Amanda Lemos at UFC 292. Many believe that she will retain her belt by fighting Lemos in the co-main event. As of June 2023, ‘Magnum’ is ranked #3 in the UFC women’s P4P rankings.

Considering all her glorious achievements in the UFC, Adesanya believes that she deserves a lot of respect and love. The UFC middleweight champion feels that her fighting prowess is underrated among the fans. ‘The Stylebender’ further lashed out at his upcoming opponent, Sean Strickland, for calling Adesanya the first Chinese champion instead of Weili. Let’s dive deeper to find out what Adesanya has to say about Strickland’s comment.

Israel Adesanya calls out the disrespectful remarks of Sean Strickland

Ahead of UFC 292, Israel Adesanya took to his YouTube channel, ‘Freestylebender’, to share his thoughts about the upcoming fights. ‘Stylebender’ seemed highly excited about the bout between Weili and Lemos. Talking about ‘Magnum’, Adesanya said, “I think her run is underrated. When I say underrated, I mean like not by the UFC by the fans or like the respect they put on a name.” 

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The UFC middleweight champion blamed Strickland for not considering her as the first Chinese champion. Adesanya added, “Like Sean calling me the first Chinese champion, it’s kind of disrespecting her because she actually is the first Chinese champion legitimately. So you can’t make a mockery of that.” Adesanya wanted to correct, ‘Tarzan’ and give the strawweight kingpin the position she deserves. Strickland and Adesanya are going to face off in a showdown at UFC 293 in Sydney. Ahead of their bout, Strickland tried multiple times to mock Adesanya by digging up his past in Chinese promotions.

The UFC middleweight champion’s Chinese days

Before becoming one of the greatest fighters in the UFC, Adesanya was a kickboxer on the regional scene in China. During that period, ‘Stylebender’ engaged in close to 24 bouts over roughly 10 months. He regards this as the most challenging time in his life. Back then, he was forced to fight continuously without any long breaks. During those days, the Chinese promotions considered Adesanya as a mere journeyman.

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They tried to use him for the Chinese fighters to beat up for entertainment. This fueled his desire to be recognized as one of the elite fighters from China. He feels that no one can truly understand the depth of his experience. However, after struggling a lot, ‘Stylebender’ was able to make a big name for himself back in China. What are your thoughts about Adesanya’s comments in favor of Weili? Let us know in the comments below.

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