Scheduled to face Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia, Israel Adesanya finds himself out of title contention for the first time in years. Although accustomed to the spotlight of a pay-per-view, the former middleweight champion (up to 83,9kg) believes this will not influence his performance.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Adesanya stated that fighting in a Fight Night is no different for him, as what matters is being in the octagon, with a referee and an audience, regardless of the event. The former champion emphasized that, although it is the biggest fight of Imavov's career, his mentality remains the same, and he is focused on stopping his opponent's rise.
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“I still get paid. There’s still a referee, it’s just the two of us in there, there’s an audience. It’s a Fight Night in Saudi Arabia, it’s not like the Apex or anything, so it doesn’t feel different. I think people are making it seem like something they would feel, but they’re not in my shoes. They’re not in my shorts. It still feels like you’re fighting Israel Adesanya . This is the biggest fight of his life. I have to be the one who stops it. It still feels the same. It doesn’t feel different,” Adesanya lamented.
Israel Adesanya participated in 14 consecutive pay-per-view events. The first was his knockout victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 230, and his last appearance in a numbered event was his submission loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 in Australia.
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