Israel Adesanya proved he could withstand a good amount of adversity on Saturday night at UFC 236 by surviving Kelvin Gastelum’s attacks to become the interim middleweight champion. His performance impressed the Atlanta crowd in attendance, including UFC president Dana White.
“I’m sure many of you saw it tonight. Israel’s flashy, Israel’s a good-looking kid, Israel speaks really well. Israel became a star tonight,” White told reporters during his post-fight media scrum.
But just how big of a star is Adensanya in White’s eyes after this win? The UFC exec says he is seeing a similarity between “The Last Stylebender” and the company’s most notable name to date.