Israel Adesanya Chinese flag: Why and when did the UFC superstar represent China in his professional career?
UFC middleweight Israel Adesanya's history of fighting out of China with a Chinese flag and claiming to have a Chinese heart.
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Israel Adesanya (Image Courtesy of Imago)
Israel Adesanya has been all over the world throughout his fight journey. The Nigerian-born fighter moved to New Zealand to practice MMA however during his early years, he spent a decent time in China fighting in kickboxing promotions.
Consequently, a video of Adesanya holding the Chinese flag has also gone viral. In the video, Adesanya can be heard saying that he’s not just a black man from Africa; in his heart, he’s Chinese. The video was from a promotional video that the fighter shot during his time in China, where he was known as the ‘Black Dragon’.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Izzy described how his time in China shaped him as a fighter and how he adapted to it.“It took me a while to adapt, you know. But I settled in and I won the fans over. They took me to heart you know and they started to call me the Black Dragon and I started winning. I just kept getting in there, bam, week after week, month after month. You learn how to fight, how to get hit, how to be disappointed and how to bounce back.”
Sean Strickland has been using Izzy’s past to make fun of him and has even called the fighter ‘ Chinese little s*ut’. Adesanya has since been mocked by many fight fans, who claim that the fighter is confused about his nationality.
Israel Adesanya explains outrageous Chinese advertisement he was a part of during his time in the country
Before joining the UFC, Israel Adesanya had a successful kickboxing career that included a period in China. Back then, ‘The Black Dragon’. He also appeared in Chinese commercials to supplement his income, which clarifies the video of him holding the Chinese flag. Adesanya recently discussed this Chinese video on his YouTube channel, explaining the situation. The fighter explained how one time he shot a video with a baby by grabbing it, and it was funny.
He said, “I grabbed a random baby. and when they came off the hook, I grabbed it from the dad. So I’m like the thing goes, My Family in China blah blah blah.. it looks like I’m like part of this Chinese man, and I’m grabbing the baby…I feel like it’s just kind of funny, I see some of it not too much of it but some of it, and I’m like.. ahh that’s right. But aye man, I made money.”
Izzy did all this during the early days of his career and revealed that even though things were weird and hilarious, he did all that because it helped him earn money when he needed it.
Continue Reading:
- “Speak out at press conference” – Fans fear for Israel Adesanya as Sean Strickland stumbles upon questionable ‘dog’ rumor of champion
- “Already committed an assault,” Sean Strickland punches Israel Adedanya fan ‘right in the guts’ on first day in Australia
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)