Israel Adesanya has agreed to mixed martial arts fans’ claim that the UFC 248 main event bout was the ‘worst title fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship history.’
Earlier this month, the Kiwi-Nigerian fighter tussled with Yoel Romero in the headlining act of the said fight card in his first official middleweight title defense.
What was expected as an epic battle turned out to be a dull affair as the middleweight pair failed to deliver intense actions in 25 minutes, much to the dismay of MMA fans who witnessed a fight for the ages in the co-main event strawweight title bout featuring Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
When the dust settled, Adesanya had his hand raised after winning the fight by way of unanimous decision to retain his 185-pound strap and remain unbeaten in eight fights.
“It was a hard fight but I did what I have to do,” he told Joe Rogan afterwards.
“He touched me in the first round so I did what I had to do and I picked him apart, I did what I had to do to win that fight.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9gLd1snQ4g/
Agreed
It was an ugly win for the ‘Last Stylebender’ but he is handling the criticisms well and even admitted that the title fight is indeed the worst ever in the promotion’s history.
In his most recent Instagram post, Adesanya shared a meme that features his fights with former middleweight contender, Kelvin Gastelum and the Cuban powerhouse.
In the photo, the Adesanya vs Gastelum UFC 236 instant classic was hailed as the ‘best title fight in history’ while labeling the Romero fight as the worst of all-time.
Earning these two feats, the middleweight champion is proud to have appeared in both occasions.
Check out the post below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9v3NgQH76p/
Really Frustrated
It wasn’t the first time Adesanya compared his two previous opponents.
In the post-UFC 248 presser, he expressed his frustration over the ‘Soldier of God’ for just standing inside the Octagon for five rounds.
“After the fight, I was really frustrated that my dance partner didn’t want to dance,” Adesanya told the media.
“A guy like Kelvin Gastelum, he brought the fight. Robert Whittaker, he brought the fight. It takes two to tango, so if I’m trying to fight and you’re just standing there like, ‘C’mon, c’mon’ that’s stupid.”
“I took his best shot in the first round, that was probably the only round that I gave him. He has a good poker face, he’s playing but his legs didn’t lie.”
“I’ve never been in a boring fight, I was expecting more of a fight from him. Even in the fifth round, I thought he would be desperate and bring the fight and I just kept waiting for the surge.”
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Israel Adesanya and YouTube/ UFC)