5 times Israel Adesanya made Anime fans go crazy with references in his fights
Being a resident anime nerd, these are some of the moments where Israel Adesanya displayed his love for the anime community.
Israel Adesanya gushes over his love for anime (Image Source - Men's Health/ WallpaperCave)
UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is known for his deadly knock-outs and his shot selection in the octagon. It is well known that he is one of the best middleweight champions to grace the MMA community. However, fans were pleasantly surprised to find out that ‘The Last Stylebender’ is also a huge fan of Anime.
In a sit down with GQ sports, ‘The Last Stylebender’ mentioned that he started watching anime when he was a kid, with shows like Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. From there on, he continued watching and exploring new anime and has been a fanatic, ever since.
His open love for anime puts him in a unique spot within the fighters, as only a handful of fighters have mentioned anime and shown support to the community. Anime fans who aren’t much aware of the UFC, now love Adesanya.
1. ‘Rock Lee’ pose during his fights
Israel Adesanya’s love for Masashi Kishimoto’s 2002 released anime ‘Naruto’ isn’t anything new. In the show, ‘Rock Lee’ is a character known for his perseverance, fighting style, and most importantly, the pose. The Stylebender, captivated by the character, busts out the pose in most of his fights and press conferences.
At UFC 234, in his fight against Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva, Adesanya whipped out the move, which came as a surprise to a lot of Naruto fans. In interviews, Adesanya mentions that the reason he got into ‘Naruto’ was because of the ‘Rock Lee vs Gaara’ fight. The Last Stylebender’s admiration towards Rock Lee and the show ‘Naruto’ has been immeasurable.
2. The ‘Death Note’ emulation during the Robert Whittaker fight
During his fight against Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya impersonated Light Yagami, the protagonist from the popular TV show, Death Note. The show follows the aforementioned named Light Yagami, who discovers a mysterious notebook that grants him the wish to kill anybody whose name is written in it.
Israel, being a huge fan of the show just wanted to pay his tribute to the show by emulating writing Robert Whittaker’s name in the book, indicating that he will be dead from the blows delivered by ‘The Stylebender’. Adesanya had also said that watching Death Note made him think outside the box.
3. When he tweeted a Jujutsu Kaisen reference
On March 7th, 2021, Adesanya tweeted an animated photo of him alongside a reference to the popular anime and manga series Jujutsu Kaisen. The caption of the photo read ‘Cuuuursseeesss…#mojojojo #JujutsuKaisen’.
In the series, sorcerers use their cursed energy to exorcise and defeat cursed spirits and fight against evil curses. His tweet was a reference to the main subject of the series, curses. This tweet was a hit garnering 30.0k likes.
4. The Unexpected ‘Spriggan’ mention
The mention of this anime cemented ‘The Stylebender’ as a true anime fan. The movie ‘Spriggan‘ which came out in the year 1998, is a franchise of which even most anime fans are unaware.
“It was futuristic. I like when I see anime and I see blood. I don’t want you to sugarcoat it” said Adesanya to GQ Sports. Although the champ had not much to add to the anime, he still rated it as the 5th one out of his top 5 favorite anime series. The fans can notice the true love Israel has for the anime genre considering his recommendation of ‘Spriggan’.
5. His First Anime Voice-Over for the show ‘Baki’
Israel Adesanya is living every anime fan’s dream of voice-acting in an anime series. The show ‘Baki’ which he voice acted in, is a cut-throat fighting anime series that tends to suit ‘The Stylebender’.
In the video uploaded to his own YouTube channel, Israel said “For me, voice-over work is my s***. I’m good at different accents, tones, and languages. I can relate to so many different cultures. I’ve always been a guy that likes to dabble in the voice-over world.”
This move has made anime fans envious of the champion.
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Prateek Athanur
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