Prior to delivering a standout performance inside the octagon against Robert Whittaker to claim the undisputed UFC middleweight championship, Israel Adesanya first captivated audiences with one of the most iconic walkouts in the promotion`s history.
Adesanya executed a brief, choreographed dance routine near the entryway before making his way to the fighting area in Melbourne, Australia. There, he would go on to brutally knock out Whittaker, thereby unifying the UFC`s 185-pound title.
Over five years later, “The Last Stylebender” discussed the creation and execution of the walkout and dance on the *Our Yeah* podcast.
“This was purely for fun,” Adesanya explained. “I genuinely enjoyed doing this because I had spent the previous night preparing for this specific walkout. As I was going to bed, I had a video replay of the walkout practice on my phone, and I thought, `Damn, this is going to look incredibly cool` as I drifted off.”
He added, “So, my focus wasn`t on the actual fight. We had already completed all the hard work.”
In the fight itself, Adesanya nearly secured a finish in the first round. However, he came back in Round 2 and landed a nasty left hook to stop “The Reaper,” marking what was, at that time, the biggest victory of his career.
Currently, Adesanya finds himself at a crucial juncture in his career, having recently lost three consecutive fights and four of his last five outings. His most recent defeats include being stopped by Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia earlier this year, and a loss to reigning middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 this past August.
