Add CategoryIsrael Adesanya is ready to take the world by storm and join the ranks of MMA's biggest stars, starting with his bout against Cuban monster Yoel Romero in Las Vegas.
The Nigeria-born, New Zealand-raised UFC middleweight champion has never lost in the cage.
He is also a charismatic, multilingual citizen of the world who appears to be the next fighter in line for superstardom with the UFC, which would love to capitalize on his potential for global appeal.
Yet Adesanya (18-0, 14 KOs) knows his aspirations hang in the balance on every fight. He intends to stay on course when he takes on fearsome Romero (13-4) in the main event of UFC 248 in his first defense of an undisputed title belt.
“A lot is on the line in this fight,” Adesanya said.
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“I don’t know what the odds are, but I feel like the underdog. I feel like a lot of people want to see me fall in this fight. This is the nature of what we’ve created. We like to build people up, and we like to tear them down because we see inadequacy in ourselves from the way they’re shining.”
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Adesanya actually is a solid favorite in the main event of the UFC’s latest event at T-Mobile Arena.
The penultimate bout also has global appeal, with new Chinese strawweight champion Zhang Weili defending her belt againstformer champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland.