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Dwayne Johnson and Stone Cold Steve Austin Influenced Nigerian UFC Fighter More Than Anyone Growing Up

Published 06/25/2022, 3:30 PM EDT

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The attitude era is the period that got WWE on the map globally stronger. There are many future WWE superstars who influenced the era had Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Kane, Triple H, etc. However, UFC Middleweight Champion, Israel Adesanya has revealed that he has taken some inspiration from WWE’s greatest stars.

Israel Adesanya appeared for an interview recently with UFC on BT Sport. Adesanya shared his love for the attitude era. They shared the clip of the official Twitter handle writing, “Being able to claim your space, be entertaining, owning the stage – the Attitude Era taught me.”

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“It’s Mixed Martial Arts. Martial Arts. 𝗔𝗿𝘁. I’m there to create.” @stylebender talks about the influence WWE had on him growing up 👊 #WWD.”

He shared his love for WWE and all the professional wrestling business. Izzy in the video said, “Watching hours, Sunday night, SmackDown, Monday Night Raw. Seeing the way guys like The Rock, Stone Cold, Booker T, Shaun Michaels, The Hardy Boyz, countless names. The way they just handle themselves as performers definitely influenced myself…”

He added, “Being able to claim your space and just be an entertainer, own the stage, own the mic, own the moment. That’s something I learnt along the way. Definitely the Attitude Era helped my claim my own time.”

UFC Champion Israel Adesanya Claims He Is Comfortable With Childhood Icon Joe Rogan but Still Needs Time With Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

The Middleweight Champion believes watching WWE during the ‘Attitude Era’ has had a major influence on the name he has made for himself in the UFC. At UFC 276 this July, Israel Adesanya will face Jared Cannonier. Adesanya will have to overcome an elite KO artist to extend his middleweight title defense to six.

Israel Adesanya was star-struck by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

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It is no secret that the UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya is a lifelong fan of WWE, especially the attitude era. Moreover, his favorite WWE superstar is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. However, even being a famous personality today, Izzy gets star-struck when he meets The Rock.

Earlier this year in February talking with talkSPORT, Adesanya revealed, “The Rock, that will take a few meetings to go away. I still get starstruck by him, but I’m cool. I’m not going to like jump him or anything.

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WWE legend and Hollywood icon, The Rock has tweeted his admiration for Adesanya in the past, including praising his performance against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271. ‘The Last Stylebender’ has met Dwayne Johnson several times as he is one of his attitude-era idols.

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Written by:

Tushar Deogharkar

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Tushar Deogharkar is a WWE writer at EssentiallySports. Tushar has done his Master's in Tourism Management and is an ardent fan of pro wrestling. He follows WWE and AEW very closely and wants to learn how the promotions are run.
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Edited by:

Vibhanshu Kumar